Richard Pulteney

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Richard Pulteney
Pultenaea stipularis Sm. - a species of the genus Pultenaea named after him .

Richard Pulteney (born February 17, 1730 in Loughborough , † October 13, 1801 in Blandford , Dorset ) was an English doctor , botanist and malacologist . Its official botanical author's abbreviation is “ Pult. "

Live and act

Richard Pulteney was the son of the nonconformist Samuel Pulteney. He went to Loughborough Grammar School and then trained as a pharmacist . During his training he moved to Mountsorrel with his teacher . He then practiced as a surgeon and pharmacist in Leicester .

Pulteney studied the flora of Leicestershire and compiled a catalog of plants which was published in the Philosophical Transactions in 1757 . From 1760 on he wrote mostly botanical articles for Gentleman's Magazine . On November 25, 1762 he was accepted as a member of the Royal Society , in 1764 he earned his doctorate in medicine at the University of Edinburgh with a dissertation on the cinchona officinalis tree .

In the same year he was presented to William Pulteney, 1st Earl of Bath (1684–1764), who recognized him as a relative and for whom he should work as a doctor, which, however, prevented his death. Pulteney took a position as a doctor in 1765 at Blandford, Dorsetshire , where he remained for the rest of his life. He married when he was about 50.

In 1781 he wrote in A general view of the writings of Linnaeus about the life and writings of Carl von Linné . With the three-volume work Historical and biographical sketches of the progress of botany in England ... published in 1790 , he made a major contribution to the processing of the botanical history of Great Britain. In 1790 he became a member of the Linnaeus Society and in 1793 a member of the Royal Society of Edinburgh .

At the age of 71 years he died in 1801 of pneumonia . He left his collection of shells and minerals as well as his herbarium to the Linnaeus Society. His herbarium is now in the British Museum .

Honors

James Edward Smith named the genus Pultenaea of the legume family (Fabaceae) in his honor .

Fonts (selection)

In Philosophical Transactions

  • To Account of. Some of the more rare English Plants observed in Leicestershire . In: Philosophical Transactions . Volume 49, 1757, pp. 803-866 ( doi: 10.1098 / rstl.1755.0113 ).
  • A catalog of some of the more rare plants found in the neighborhood of Leicester, Loughborough and in Charley Forest . In: Philosophical Transactions . Volume 49, pp. 866, 1757
  • In The Case of a Man, Whose Heart Was Found Enlarged to a Very Uncommon Size . In: Philosophical Transactions . Volume 52, 1761/1762
  • A Letter from Richard Pulteney, MDFRS to William Watson, MDFRS concerning the Medicinal Effects of a Poisonous Plant Exhibited Instead of the Water Parsnep . In: Philosophical Transactions . Volume 62, 1772
  • An Account of Baptisms, Marriages, and Burials, during Forty Years, in the Parish of Blandford Forum, Dorset . In: Philosophical Transactions . Volume 68, 1778

Original editions

  • Dissertatio medica inauguralis, de Cinchona officinali Linnaei; sive cortice peruviano ... Edinburgh, 1764
  • A general view of the writings of Linnaeus . London, 1781
  • Historical and biographical sketches of the progress of botany in England: from its origin to the introduction of the Linnaean system . London, 1790 - 3 volumes
  • The history and description of a minute epiphyllous lycoperdon growing on the leaves of the Anemone nemorosa . London, 1794
  • Catalogs of the Birds, Shells, and some of the more rare Plants of Dorsetshire . London, 1799
  • Observations on the economiocal use of the Ranunculus aquatilis with introductory remarks on the acrimonious and poisonous quality of some of the English species of that genus . London, 1800

German editions

  • D. Richard Pulteney's History of Botany to Modern Times, with Special Consideration for England. For connoisseurs and amateurs . Leipzig, 1798 - Translator: Karl Gottlob Kühn .

literature

  • Robert H. Jeffers: Richard Pulteney, MD, FRS (1730-1801) and his correspondents . London, 1960.
  • HA Waldron: Richard Pulteney (1730-1801): Linnean botanist and cardiologist . In: Transactions & studies of the College of Physicians of Philadelphia . Volume 2, Issue 1, pp. 31-40, 1980

swell

  • John Aikin: General Biography: or, Lives, Critical and Historical, of the most Eminent Persons of all Ages, Countries, Conditions, and Professions, Arranged According to Alphabetical Order . London, 1799-1815. - 10 volumes
  • Alexander Chalmers: The General Biographical Dictionary: Containing an Historical and Critical Account of the Lives and Writings of the most Eminent Persons in Every Nation; Particularly the British and Irish; from the Earliest Accounts to the Present Time . London, 1812-1817. - 32 volumes
  • William Georg Maton: Memoirs of Doctor Pulteney . In: A general view of the writings of Linnaeus . 2nd edition, London, 1805

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ James Edward Smith: A Specimen of the Botany of New Holland . 1, 1794 full text on Wikisource

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Pulteney, Richard
BRIEF DESCRIPTION English doctor and botanist
DATE OF BIRTH February 17, 1730
PLACE OF BIRTH Loughborough
DATE OF DEATH October 13, 1801
Place of death Blandford , Dorset