Richard Anthony Salisbury
Encyclopedia
Richard Anthony Salisbury FRS (2 May 1761 - 1829) was a British
botanist. While he is remembered as a valuable worker in horticultural and botanical sciences, several bitter disputes caused him to be ostracised by his contemporaries.
—possibly instructed by John Hope
—and became friendly with James Edward Smith
. He changed his last name to Salisbury following a supposed financial arrangement for support in his studies. This arrangement made with a Mrs. Anna Salisbury, related by marriage to his grandmother, or so he claimed in correspondence with Joseph Banks
.
Salisbury married Caroline Staniforth in 1796. One child, Eleanor, was born to the couple in 1797; the two separated shortly thereafter. Salisbury had apparently misrepresented his financeswhen he had proposed marriage, and had large debts at the time of his daughter's birth and had declared bankruptcy for dubious purposes. His honesty in legal and financial matters was seems to have been questionable, if not devious. He apparently recovered financially by 1802, when he bought a house.
He established substantial gardens at one of his fathers estates, Chapel Allerton
, near Leeds, and purchased the former estate of Peter Collinson, Ridgeway House. It was at the latter that a long running dispute that began between Smith and himself.
Salisbury contributed annotations to Plantarum Guianæ Icones Edward Rudge
(1805–7) and descriptions in Paradisus Londinensis (1806–9), the genus name Hookera honoured the second work's illustrator, William Hooker. The genus was renamed by Smith a few years later, Brodiaea
after his wealthy "friend and patron," James Brodie of Brodie.
In 1809 he was appointed the first honorary secretary of the Horticultural Society
, his successor Joseph Sabine
found he had left the accounts in disarray. He moved to London around this time, his small garden containing a large number of exotic and rare plants.
Salisbury opposed the Linnean system
, which led others to ignore his work. The censure was later reported as,
Salisbury was known as a man who was difficult to get along with, and was shunned by many botanists of his day. Nonetheless, he was himself a meticulous botanist who contributed significantly to the science. His contribution to English botany include a Corsican pine (Pinus nigra) delivered to Kew Gardens, his herbarium
was also passed there via his adopted son, Matthew Burchill. Salisbury has met Alphonse de Candolle in his later years, and offered to leave him his inheritance if he would take the name of 'Salisbury'.
He died in 1829. His manuscripts were obtained by John Edward Gray
, who published part as Genera Plantarum and deposited the remaining documents at the British Museum
.
The portrait in pencil by Burchell (1817), acquired by Kew, and Smith's genus Salisburia, a synonym for Ginkgo
, denote his part in the history of British botany.
, entitled On the cultivation of the plants belonging to the natural order of Proteeae
, which contained only 13 pages related to cultivation techniques, but over 100 pages of taxonomic revision. However, it turned out that the work had nonetheless freely plagiarised the work of yet another botanist (Brown
) who was at odds with Salisbury. Salisbury had memorised the plant names from Robert Brown's
reading of his On the Proteaceae of Jussieu to the Linnean Society of London
in the first quarter of 1809, which was subsequently published in March 1810. Knight and Salisbury thus beat Brown to print and claimed priority for the names that Brown had authored.
Salisbury was accused of plagiarism
, ostracised from botanical circles, and his publications were largely ignored during his lifetime. Samuel Goodenough
wrote:
Robert Brown himself wrote of Salisbury:
Although Salisbury's generic names have almost all been overturned, many of his specific epithets have been reinstated; since the nominal author was Knight, not Salisbury, Knight is now considered the author of a great many Proteaceae
species.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
botanist. While he is remembered as a valuable worker in horticultural and botanical sciences, several bitter disputes caused him to be ostracised by his contemporaries.
Life
Richard Anthony Markham was born in Leeds, England, the son of Richard Markham, a cloth merchant. He attended the university of EdinburghUniversity of Edinburgh
The University of Edinburgh, founded in 1583, is a public research university located in Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The university is deeply embedded in the fabric of the city, with many of the buildings in the historic Old Town belonging to the university...
—possibly instructed by John Hope
John Hope (botanist)
John Hope was a Scottish physician and botanist. He is best known as an early supporter of Carl Linnaeus's system of classification, largely because he published very little of the research that might have made him a name in plant physiology....
—and became friendly with James Edward Smith
James Edward Smith
Sir James Edward Smith was an English botanist and founder of the Linnean Society.Smith was born in Norwich in 1759, the son of a wealthy wool merchant. He displayed a precocious interest in the natural world...
. He changed his last name to Salisbury following a supposed financial arrangement for support in his studies. This arrangement made with a Mrs. Anna Salisbury, related by marriage to his grandmother, or so he claimed in correspondence with Joseph Banks
Joseph Banks
Sir Joseph Banks, 1st Baronet, GCB, PRS was an English naturalist, botanist and patron of the natural sciences. He took part in Captain James Cook's first great voyage . Banks is credited with the introduction to the Western world of eucalyptus, acacia, mimosa and the genus named after him,...
.
Salisbury married Caroline Staniforth in 1796. One child, Eleanor, was born to the couple in 1797; the two separated shortly thereafter. Salisbury had apparently misrepresented his financeswhen he had proposed marriage, and had large debts at the time of his daughter's birth and had declared bankruptcy for dubious purposes. His honesty in legal and financial matters was seems to have been questionable, if not devious. He apparently recovered financially by 1802, when he bought a house.
He established substantial gardens at one of his fathers estates, Chapel Allerton
Chapel Allerton
Chapel Allerton is an inner suburb of north-east Leeds, from the city centre, West Yorkshire, England. The Chapel Allerton electoral ward includes areas otherwise referred to as Chapeltown and Potternewton - the suburb is generally considered to be only the northern part of this...
, near Leeds, and purchased the former estate of Peter Collinson, Ridgeway House. It was at the latter that a long running dispute that began between Smith and himself.
Salisbury contributed annotations to Plantarum Guianæ Icones Edward Rudge
Edward Rudge
-Life:Born on 27 June 1763, he was son of Edward Rudge, a merchant and alderman of Salisbury, who possessed a large portion of the abbey estate at Evesham....
(1805–7) and descriptions in Paradisus Londinensis (1806–9), the genus name Hookera honoured the second work's illustrator, William Hooker. The genus was renamed by Smith a few years later, Brodiaea
Brodiaea
Brodiaea is a monocot genus of flowering plants in the family Asparagaceae, subfamily Brodiaeoideae, also known by the common name cluster-lilies...
after his wealthy "friend and patron," James Brodie of Brodie.
In 1809 he was appointed the first honorary secretary of the Horticultural Society
Horticultural society
A horticultural society is an organization devoted to the study and culture of cultivated plants. Such organizations may be local, regional, national, or international...
, his successor Joseph Sabine
Joseph Sabine
Joseph Sabine was an English lawyer, naturalist and writer on horticulture.He was born into a prominent Anglo-Irish family in Tewin, Hertfordshire, the eldest son of Joseph Sabine. His younger brother was Sir Edward Sabine....
found he had left the accounts in disarray. He moved to London around this time, his small garden containing a large number of exotic and rare plants.
Salisbury opposed the Linnean system
Carolus Linnaeus
Carl Linnaeus , also known after his ennoblement as , was a Swedish botanist, physician, and zoologist, who laid the foundations for the modern scheme of binomial nomenclature. He is known as the father of modern taxonomy, and is also considered one of the fathers of modern ecology...
, which led others to ignore his work. The censure was later reported as,
Salisbury was known as a man who was difficult to get along with, and was shunned by many botanists of his day. Nonetheless, he was himself a meticulous botanist who contributed significantly to the science. His contribution to English botany include a Corsican pine (Pinus nigra) delivered to Kew Gardens, his herbarium
Herbarium
In botany, a herbarium – sometimes known by the Anglicized term herbar – is a collection of preserved plant specimens. These specimens may be whole plants or plant parts: these will usually be in a dried form, mounted on a sheet, but depending upon the material may also be kept in...
was also passed there via his adopted son, Matthew Burchill. Salisbury has met Alphonse de Candolle in his later years, and offered to leave him his inheritance if he would take the name of 'Salisbury'.
He died in 1829. His manuscripts were obtained by John Edward Gray
John Edward Gray
John Edward Gray, FRS was a British zoologist. He was the elder brother of George Robert Gray and son of the pharmacologist and botanist Samuel Frederick Gray ....
, who published part as Genera Plantarum and deposited the remaining documents at the British Museum
British Museum
The British Museum is a museum of human history and culture in London. Its collections, which number more than seven million objects, are amongst the largest and most comprehensive in the world and originate from all continents, illustrating and documenting the story of human culture from its...
.
The portrait in pencil by Burchell (1817), acquired by Kew, and Smith's genus Salisburia, a synonym for Ginkgo
Ginkgo
Ginkgo , also spelled gingko and known as the Maidenhair Tree, is a unique species of tree with no close living relatives...
, denote his part in the history of British botany.
Works
He published a manuscript in 1809 under the name of a friend, Joseph KnightJoseph Knight (horticulturist)
Joseph Knight , gardener to George Hibbert, was one of the first people in England to successfully propagate Proteaceae...
, entitled On the cultivation of the plants belonging to the natural order of Proteeae
On the cultivation of the plants belonging to the natural order of Proteeae
On the cultivation of the plants belonging to the natural order of Proteeae is an 1809 paper on the Proteaceae family of flowering plants. Although nominally written by Joseph Knight as a paper on cultivation techniques, all but 13 pages consists of an unattributed taxonomic revision now known to...
, which contained only 13 pages related to cultivation techniques, but over 100 pages of taxonomic revision. However, it turned out that the work had nonetheless freely plagiarised the work of yet another botanist (Brown
Robert Brown (botanist)
Robert Brown was a Scottish botanist and palaeobotanist who made important contributions to botany largely through his pioneering use of the microscope...
) who was at odds with Salisbury. Salisbury had memorised the plant names from Robert Brown's
Robert Brown (botanist)
Robert Brown was a Scottish botanist and palaeobotanist who made important contributions to botany largely through his pioneering use of the microscope...
reading of his On the Proteaceae of Jussieu to the Linnean Society of London
Linnean Society of London
The Linnean Society of London is the world's premier society for the study and dissemination of taxonomy and natural history. It publishes a zoological journal, as well as botanical and biological journals...
in the first quarter of 1809, which was subsequently published in March 1810. Knight and Salisbury thus beat Brown to print and claimed priority for the names that Brown had authored.
Salisbury was accused of plagiarism
Plagiarism
Plagiarism is defined in dictionaries as the "wrongful appropriation," "close imitation," or "purloining and publication" of another author's "language, thoughts, ideas, or expressions," and the representation of them as one's own original work, but the notion remains problematic with nebulous...
, ostracised from botanical circles, and his publications were largely ignored during his lifetime. Samuel Goodenough
Samuel Goodenough
Samuel Goodenough was the Bishop of Carlisle from 1808 until his death in 1827, and an amateur botanist and collector. He is honoured in the scientific names of the plant genus Goodenia and the Red-capped Robin .-Life:Born at Kimpton, near Weyhill, Hampshire, on 29 April 1743 , he was the third...
wrote:
Robert Brown himself wrote of Salisbury:
Although Salisbury's generic names have almost all been overturned, many of his specific epithets have been reinstated; since the nominal author was Knight, not Salisbury, Knight is now considered the author of a great many Proteaceae
Proteaceae
Proteaceae is a family of flowering plants distributed in the Southern Hemisphere. The family comprises about 80 genera with about 1600 species. Together with the Platanaceae and Nelumbonaceae they make up the order Proteales. Well known genera include Protea, Banksia, Embothrium, Grevillea,...
species.
Published works
Contributions mentioned above, and other published works include:- Icones Stirpium rariorum, 1787
- Prodromus Stirpium in horto ad Chapel Allerton, 1796
- Dissertatio botanica de Erica, 1800
- Genera of Plants, 1866, edited by J. E. Gray.