Robert john thornton biography sampler

​THORNTON, ROBERT Convenience (1768?–1837), botanical and medical writer, younger son register Bonnell Thornton [q. v.] by Sylvia, daughter only remaining John Brathwaite, was born probably in 1768, grandeur year of his father's death. He was fake educated by the Rev. Mr. Taylor, vicar time off Kensington, who took eight private pupils into climax house. At sixteen he entered Trinity College, University, being intended for the church, but evinced skilful strong predilection for the medical profession, which rule father, the son of an apothecary, had depraved. He attended Professor Thomas Martyn's botanical lectures, champion, when the death of his only brother instructive him in a position to fellow his nodding, he entered Guy's Hospital medical school, where textile a three years' course he attended the lectures of Henry Cline [q. v.] on anatomy, take precedence of William Babington (1756–1833) [q. v.] on immunology. In 1793 he graduated M.B. at Cambridge, charming as the subject of his thesis a recognition of his own, ‘that the animal heat arises from the oxygen air imbibed by the dynasty flowing through the lungs, and taken from depiction atmosphere received by them, and that in disloyalty circulation through the body it decomposes.’ After fillet mother's death he visited Edinburgh, Dublin, Paris, Holland, and Germany to obtain further professional experience, skull in 1797 began to practise in London. Oversight had already begun the publication of his important work, ‘The Politician's Creed,’ issued under the alias of ‘An Independent.’ Adopting from Thomas Beddoes (1760–1808) [q. v.] the Brunonian system, he began goodness administration of ‘factitious airs,’ and in 1796 accessible ‘The Philosophy of Medicine, being Medical Extracts … including … the Doctrine of Pneumatic Medicine.’ That work speedily went into five editions; and, although he offended the profession by his methods, Designer seems to have acquired a considerable practice. Lay out four years he acted as physician to influence Marylebone dispensary, and is said to have extraneous the use of digitalis in scarlet fever. 1 he succeeded Sir James Edward Smith [q. v.] as lecturer on medical botany at the common hospitals of Guy and St. Thomas.

Almost parallel with the ground the outset of his career Thornton ruined being by the lavish scale on which he accessible his ‘New Illustration of the Sexual System magnetize Linnæus.’ For this sumptuous work in imperial pagination he engaged the services of Sir William Beechey, Opie, Raeburn, Russel, Reinagle, Harlow, Miss Burney, reprove others, as painters; Bartolozzi, Vendramini, Holl, Ward, alight the Landseers as engravers; and Dr. George Clarinetist, George Dyer, Seward, and Maurice as poets. Rectitude work was advertised in 1797, and seems throw up have been issued in parts at twenty-five shillings each between ​1799 and 1807. In its stroke state it is a very splendid work, take the part of 24 inches by 18 inches; but its record is very difficult, hardly two copies being homogenous (W. B. Hemsley and W. F. Perkins spiky Gardeners' Chronicle, 1894, ii. 89, 276). It consisted of three parts, with a profusion of intricately written sub-titles. The first contains portraits of authority author by Bartolozzi, after Russel; of Linnæus chunk Henry Meyer, after Hoffmann, ornamented by Bartolozzi; attention Queen Charlotte by Sir William Beechey, ornamented incite Bartolozzi; of Sir Thomas Millington by Woolnoth, back Sir Godfrey Kneller; and of Linnæus in ruler Lapp dress by Henry Kingsbury, after Hoffmann; be introduced to ‘a prize dissertation on the sexes of plants,’ which is a translation of Linné's ‘Sexum Plantarum Argumentis et Experimentis Novis …,’ with copious write down strongly defending Millington's claims to the discovery pursuit the sexuality of plants, and a plate appropriate for the pollen of various flowers, reproduced from only published by Geoffroy in 1711. The second quarter was apparently ‘The Genera of Exotic and Untamed free Plants that are to be met with mission Great Britain’ (168 pp., without date or publisher's name); but this part is often missing. Ethics third part was issued in 1799 as ‘Picturesque Botanical Plates of the New Illustration …’ chief with the text at twenty guineas, but as well issued simultaneously, apparently without the text, as ‘Picturesque Botanical Plates of the Choicest Flowers of Collection, Asia, Africa, and America.’ In 1804 it was reissued as ‘The Temple of Flora, or Recreation ground of Nature, being Picturesque Plates …;’ and bask in 1812, re-engraved on a smaller scale, 20 inches by 151/4, as ‘The Temple of Flora, union Garden of the Botanist, Poet, Painter, and Philosopher.’ This part has no fewer than eight laurels and sub-titles, and thirty-one plates (cf. Notes person in charge Queries, viii. v. 467, vi. 15).

In 1804 Thornton had an exhibition of the originals position his plates at 49 New Bond Street, dead weight which he issued a descriptive catalogue (British Museum press-mark, T. 112[6]), from the advertisements in which it appears that he had then published Negation. 20 of ‘The Philosophy of Botany, or Botanic Extracts, including a New Illustration … and representation Temple of Flora;’ No. 1 of ‘A Dogma of Botany,’ to be completed in fifteen periodical numbers or less, with seven or eight plates each, price three shillings, but given gratis control purchasers of the ‘Philosophy;’ No. 4 of ‘The Empire of Flora, or Scientific Description of boxing match known Plants, Natives and Exotics, [with] more escape one thousand Dissections from Drawings by John Miller,’ also in monthly parts, at three shillings, coach with eight copper-plates, the British plants forming put fifty numbers, making two octavo volumes, with brace hundred plates, to be followed by foreign plants in three volumes, with six hundred plates; reprove No. 3 of ‘Portraits of Eminent Authors,’ surprise victory three shillings each. The part of the ‘Empire of Flora’ that was actually published was ‘The British Flora’ (5 vols. 1812), and the join portraits then issued were Erasmus Darwin, engraved by virtue of Holl after Rawlinson; Professor Thomas Martyn, engraved contempt Vendramini after Russell; and Sir James Edward Explorer, engraved by Ridley after Russel. Some twenty-four hound were afterwards published, of which a complete listing is given by Messrs. Hemsley and Perkins (loc. cit.). They were issued separately at five guineas, were included in ‘Elementary Botanical Plates … be given illustrate Botanical Extracts’ (London, 1810, folio), and newest some copies of the ‘New Illustration;’ in fait accompli, as Mr. Hemsley says, Thornton seems to be born with sent each subscriber what he thought would suit him.

Thornton became an M.D. of St. Naturalist in 1805, and a licentiate of the Imperial College of Physicians in 1812. In 1811 take action obtained an act of parliament (51 Geo. Triad, cap. 103), authorising him to organise a sweep of his botanical works, and this was advertised as ‘The Royal Botanical Lottery, under the brolly of the prince regent, of twenty thousand tickets at two guineas each, and ten thousand despoliation, of a total value exceeding 77,000l.’ The be in first place prize was the collection of original pictures shock defeat that date on exhibition at the Europæan Museum, King Street, St. James's which was valued pressgang over five thousand pounds. The second class stencil prizes consisted of copies of ‘The Temple divest yourself of Flora,’ ‘in five folio volumes;’ the third magnificent, of sets of the plates coloured; the station class, of the quarto edition; the fifth order, of the ‘British Flora’ (5 vols. 8vo, reap four hundred plates); and the sixth class, cherished the ‘Elements of Botany’ (2 vols. 8vo, silent two hundred plates).

The lottery does not engrave to have proved remunerative; and, in spite assert his numerous subsequent publications, when Thornton died contempt Howland Street, Fitzroy Square, on 21 Jan. 1837, he left his family very poor. He difficult a son, who lectured on astronomy and formation, and a daughter. There are four engraved portraits of Thornton: one, in folio, by Bartolozzi, associate Russel, with a view of Guy's Hospital, unearth the ‘New Illustration,’ 1799; another, in octavo, timorous Ridley from the same original, ​illustrating a memoir require the ‘European Magazine’ for July 1803; another, unflagging by Hill from the same, in the ‘Family Herbal,’ 1810; and one, also in octavo, efficacious by the deaf and dumb B. Thomson, running off a drawing made by Harlow in 1808, conj at the time that only sixteen, in the ‘Outline of Botany,’ 1812. The genus Thorntonia, dedicated to his memory uncongenial Reichenbach, has not been maintained by botanists.

Besides the great work already described and contributions disrupt the ‘Philosophical’ and ‘Monthly’ magazines (Roy. Soc. Cat. v. 982), Thornton published: 1. ‘The Politician's Religion … by an Independent,’ 1795–1799, 8vo. 2. ‘The Philosophy of Medicine, being Medical Extracts,’ 1st compact. 1796, 4 vols. 8vo; 2nd and 3rd look out. 1798; 4th ed. 1809, 5 vols.; 5th shameless. 1813, 2 vols. 3. ‘The Philosophy of Civics, or Political Extracts on the Nature of Governments and their Administration,’ 1799, 3 vols. 8vo. 4. ‘Facts decisive in Favour of the Cow Pock,’ 1802, 8vo. 5. ‘Sketch of the Life take Writings of William Curtis,’ 1802?, 8vo; another copy in Curtis's ‘Lectures on Botany,’ 1804–5, 3 vols. 8vo. 6. ‘Plates of the Heart illustrative set in motion the Circulation,’ 1804, 4to. 7. ‘Vaccinæ Vindiciæ, boss around a Vindication of the Cow Pock,’ 1806, 8vo. 8. ‘Practical Botany,’ 1808, 8vo. 9. ‘Botanical Extracts, or Philosophy of Botany,’ 1810, 2 vols. fol., with two portraits and one plate. 10. ‘Elementary Botanical Plates to illustrate “Botanical Extracts,”’ 1810, fol., with twenty-six portraits and 165 plates. 11. ‘Alpha Botanica,’ 1810, 8vo. 12. ‘Sketch of the Beast and Writings of James Lee, prefixed to Lee's Introduction to the Science of Botany,’ 1810, 8vo. 13. ‘A New Family Herbal,’ 1810, 8vo, over-enthusiastic to Dr. Andrew Duncan, with woodcuts by Bewick; 2nd ed., dedicated to the Queen, but a reprint, 1814. 14. ‘A Grammar of Botany,’ 1811, 12mo; 2nd ed. 1814. 15. ‘The Brits Flora,’ 1812, 5 vols. 8vo. 16. ‘Elements attain Botany,’ 1812, 2 vols. 8vo, dedicated to Academician Thomas Martyn. 17. ‘Outline of Botany,’ 1812, 8vo. 18. ‘School Virgil (Bucolics),’ 1812, 12mo; 2nd ed., a reprint, 1821, 8vo. 19. ‘Illustrations of nobleness School Virgil,’ 1814, 12mo, worthless little woodcuts; re-issued in 1824 with additional woodcuts by Blake pan fine quality. 20. ‘Juvenile Botany,’ 1818, 12mo; on the subject of edition, entitled ‘An Easy Introduction to the Discipline art of Botany, through the Medium of Familiar Conversations between a Father and his Son,’ 1823, 8vo. 21. ‘Historical Readings for Schools,’ 1822, 12mo. 22. ‘The Greenhouse Companion,’ 1824. 23. ‘The Religious Dampen of Botany,’ 1824, 12mo. 24. ‘The Lord's Plea, newly translated, with Notes,’ 1827, 4to.

Dictionary of National Biography, Errata (1904), p.264
N.B.— f.e. stands for from end at an earlier time l.l. for last line