James Britten (3 May 1846 – 8 October 1924) was an English

botanist Botany, also called plant science, is the branch of natural science and biology studying plants, especially Plant anatomy, their anatomy, Plant taxonomy, taxonomy, and Plant ecology, ecology. A botanist or plant scientist is a scientist who s ...

Biography

Born in

Chelsea, London Chelsea is an area in West London, England, due south-west of Kilometre zero#Great Britain, Charing Cross by approximately . It lies on the north bank of the River Thames and for postal purposes is part of the SW postcode area, south-western p ...

, he moved to

High Wycombe High Wycombe, often referred to as Wycombe ( ), is a market town in Buckinghamshire, England. Lying in the valley of the River Wye, Buckinghamshire, River Wye surrounded by the Chiltern Hills, it is west-northwest of Charing Cross in London, ...

in 1865 to begin a medical career. However he became increasingly interested in botany, and began writing papers on the subject. His first publication was probably that published in the '' Journal of Botany'' in 1863. He became a Catholic in 1867, and was involved at various times in social work and training choirs in Brentford, Isleworth, and Southwark. In 1869, he was appointed a junior at the Herbarium at the

Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew is a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom sponsored by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. An internationally important botanical research and education institution, it employs 1,10 ...

. In 1871, he joined the Department of Botany at the

British Museum The British Museum is a Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...

and remained in this position until his retirement in 1909. In 1879, he succeeded Henry Trimen as editor of the ''

Journal of Botany, British and Foreign ''Journal of Botany, British and Foreign'' is a monthly journal that was published from 1863 to 1942, and founded by Berthold Carl Seemann who was the editor until his death in 1871. It was initially published by Robert Hardwicke. Seemann himse ...

''. He would hold the editorship for around 45 years. Botanist Norman Hall wrote of Britten: "Britten threw himself fully into the editorship, although his pungent remarks on papers submitted were not always appreciated." Britten was also heavily involved in the

Catholic Truth Society Catholic Truth Society (CTS) is a body that prints and publishes Catholic literature, including apologetics, prayerbooks, spiritual reading, and lives of saints. It is based in London, United Kingdom. The CTS had been founded in 1868 by Cardi ...

. This had lapsed in 1872, but Britten helped revive it in 1884, and dominated the movement for many years. In 1896, during his time as secretary of the Society, they published ''Protestant Fiction''. This earned him an appointment as Knight and later Knight Commander of the

Order of St. Gregory the Great The Pontifical Equestrian Order of St. Gregory the Great (; ) was established on 1 September 1831, by Pope Gregory XVI, seven months after his election as Pope. The order is one of the five Papal order of knighthood, orders of knighthood of th ...

Pope Leo XIII Pope Leo XIII (; born Gioacchino Vincenzo Raffaele Luigi Pecci; 2March 181020July 1903) was head of the Catholic Church from 20 February 1878 until his death in July 1903. He had the fourth-longest reign of any pope, behind those of Peter the Ap ...

. He died at age 79.

Publications

*John Fleming MD, (1747-1829) botanist

Botanical reference

References

External links

*
Fine Rare Prints
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Britten, James English botanists English Roman Catholics People from Chelsea, London Scientists from London People from High Wycombe 1846 births 1924 deaths People associated with the British Museum Knights Commander of the Order of St Gregory the Great Contributors to the Catholic Encyclopedia