John Forbes Royle facts for kids
John Forbes Royle (born May 10, 1798 – died January 2, 1858) was a British botanist. He was born in Kanpur, India, and became very important in studying plants and how they could be used, especially for medicine and trade. He managed a special plant garden in Saharanpur, India, and later taught about plants in London.
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Early Life and Studies
John Forbes Royle was the only son of William Henry Royle and Isabella Forbes. When he was young, his father passed away. He went to school in Edinburgh and became very interested in plants and nature, thanks to a teacher named Anthony Todd Thomson. This interest made him change his plans from a military career to studying medicine instead.
In 1819, John joined the British East India Company as a doctor's assistant. He moved to Calcutta (now Kolkata) in India. While working with the army in different parts of India, he spent his free time studying plants and rocks. He collected many plant samples, especially from the Himalaya mountains.
Working at Saharanpur Garden
Leading the Botanical Garden
In 1823, John Forbes Royle became the boss of the botanical garden in Saharanpur, India. This garden was started in 1750 by the East India Company to find and grow new plants that could be useful for trade. He worked with another scientist named Hugh Falconer there.
Studying Traditional Medicine
One of Royle's main interests was learning about the traditional plant-based medicines used by local Indian doctors. He even wrote a book about it called On the Antiquity of Hindu Medicine (1837). He noticed that many of these old remedies worked very well. He also started keeping records of the weather in Saharanpur.
In 1831, Royle left his job and went back to England. But he kept writing and publishing many important books about plants.
Life and Work in England
Teaching and Research
In 1836, John Royle became a professor at King's College London. He taught about materia medica, which is the study of how plants and other natural things can be used as medicine. He held this job until 1856. He also became a member of important science groups like the Linnean Society and the Royal Society.
He used the plant collections he made in India to write a big book called Illustrations of the botany and other branches of the natural history of the Himalayan mountains (1839). In this book, he suggested that a special plant called cinchona, which is used to make medicine for malaria, should be grown in India. He thought the Neelgherry hills would be a good place for it.
Helping with the Great Exhibition
In 1851, Royle helped organize the Indian section of the Great Exhibition in London, which was a huge show of inventions and products from around the world.
In 1852, his idea to bring cinchona plants to India was approved by the governor-general of India, Lord Dalhousie. Royle wrote a report about it in 1853. The work to grow cinchona in India began in 1860, a couple of years after Royle passed away in Acton, near London, on January 2, 1858.
Important Plant Studies
Key Publications
John Royle is best known for his two-volume book, Illustrations of the Botany and other branches of Natural History of the Himalayan Mountains, and of the Flora of Cashmere, which he started in 1839.
He was also very interested in plants that could be used to make fibers, like cotton. He wrote books such as On the Culture and Commerce of Cotton in India and Elsewhere (1851) and The Fibrous Plants of India fitted for Cordage (1855). He also wrote many articles for science magazines.
Royle also suggested that forests should be protected by the government in his book Essay on the Productive Resources of India (1840).
Plants Named After Him
Because of his important work, a plant group called Roylea and a small animal called Royle's pika (Ochotona roylei) are named after him.
Personal Life
In 1839, John Royle married Annette Solly. They had a daughter named Annette Jane and three sons: Joseph Ralph Edward John, William Henry Lough, and Edmund Elphinstone.
The John Forbes Royle Botanical Garden in Kanpur, India, is named in his honor.
