John Earle Raven (13 December 1914 – 5 March 1980) was an English

classical scholar Classics, also classical studies or Ancient Greek and Roman studies, is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, ''classics'' traditionally refers to the study of Ancient Greek literature, Ancient Greek and Roman literature and ...

, notable for his work on

pre-Socratic philosophy Pre-Socratic philosophy, also known as early Greek philosophy, is ancient Greek philosophy before Socrates. Pre-Socratic philosophers were mostly interested in cosmology, the beginning and the substance of the universe, but the inquiries of the ...

, and amateur

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 ...

. His wife, Faith, inherited the 35,000 acre Ardtornish Estate in Argyllshire, Scotland; their family continues to run it today as a commercial enterprise.

Early life and education

John Raven was born on 13 December 1914 in

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

,Catalogus Philologorum Classicorum
/ref> the son of Charles Earle Raven, sometime Regius Professor of Divinity at Cambridge and Master of

Christ's College, Cambridge Christ's College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. The college includes the Master, the Fellows of the College, and about 450 undergraduate and 250 graduate students. The c ...

and of Margaret Wollaston. His mother's family endowed Raven with a distinguished intellectual pedigree, including between 1723 and 1829 seven

Fellows of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the Fellows of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural science, natural knowledge, incl ...

(among them Charlton Wollaston, Francis Wollaston (1694-1774), Francis Wollaston (1762-1823), George Wollaston and

William Hyde Wollaston William Hyde Wollaston (; 6 August 1766 – 22 December 1828) was an English chemist and physicist who is famous for discovering the chemical elements palladium and rhodium. He also developed a way to process platinum ore into malleable i ...

); Raven was also a 7th generation descendant of William Wollaston, the philosophical writer. On his father's side, he was related to Samuel Hole, Dean of Rochester. Raven was educated at St Ronan's School, then situated at

Worthing Worthing ( ) is a seaside town and borough in West Sussex, England, at the foot of the South Downs, west of Brighton, and east of Chichester. With a population of 113,094 and an area of , the borough is the second largest component of the Br ...

, before proceeding in September 1928 with a

scholarship A scholarship is a form of Student financial aid, financial aid awarded to students for further education. Generally, scholarships are awarded based on a set of criteria such as academic merit, Multiculturalism, diversity and inclusion, athleti ...

Marlborough College Marlborough College is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English private boarding school) for pupils aged 13 to 18 in Marlborough, Wiltshire, England. It was founded as Marlborough School in 1843 by the Dean of Manchester, George ...

, where he distinguished himself academically, winning prizes in English verse,

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

iambics, Greek and

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

prose Prose is language that follows the natural flow or rhythm of speech, ordinary grammatical structures, or, in writing, typical conventions and formatting. Thus, prose ranges from informal speaking to formal academic writing. Prose differs most n ...

and Latin verse, culminating in a scholarship to

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any ...

. He did not confine himself to the intellectual, playing in the First XV at rugby and setting new school records in 1934 for the

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and 440 yards. Following the award of a first class degree in

classics Classics, also classical studies or Ancient Greek and Roman studies, is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, ''classics'' traditionally refers to the study of Ancient Greek literature, Ancient Greek and Roman literature and ...

at Trinity Raven became in 1946 a

research fellow A research fellow is an academic research position at a university or a similar research institution, usually for academic staff or faculty members. A research fellow may act either as an independent investigator or under the supervision of a p ...

there. In October 1948 he was elected a

fellow A fellow is a title and form of address for distinguished, learned, or skilled individuals in academia, medicine, research, and industry. The exact meaning of the term differs in each field. In learned society, learned or professional society, p ...

King's College, Cambridge King's College, formally The King's College of Our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge, is a List of colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college lies beside the River Cam and faces ...

."John Raven’s report on his visit to the Hebrides", 1948
edited by C. D. Preston, ''Watsonia''; 25: 17–44 (2004) During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

he was a

conscientious objector A conscientious objector is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of conscience or religion. The term has also been extended to objecting to working for the military–indu ...

,Obituary of Andrew Raven
''The Daily Telegraph''; 5 October 2005 basing his case on arguments by

Plato Plato ( ; Greek language, Greek: , ; born BC, died 348/347 BC) was an ancient Greek philosopher of the Classical Greece, Classical period who is considered a foundational thinker in Western philosophy and an innovator of the writte ...

(and no doubt influenced by his father's pacifist views). He undertook unsalaried social work for Guy Clutton-Brock at Oxford House in

Bethnal Green Bethnal Green is an area in London, England, and is located in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is in east London and part of the East End of London, East End. The area emerged from the small settlement which developed around the common la ...

. This included running an experiment in education for Bethnal Green children evacuated to North Wales, which impressed Archbishop William Temple, who recommended the experiment to

Rab Butler Richard Austen Butler, Baron Butler of Saffron Walden (9 December 1902 – 8 March 1982), also known as R. A. Butler and familiarly known from his initials as Rab, was a prominent British Conservative Party (UK), Conservative Party politici ...

and

James Chuter Ede James Chuter Chuter-Ede, Baron Chuter-Ede, (; 11 September 1882 – 11 November 1965), was a British teacher, trade unionist and Labour Party politician. He was a Member of Parliament (MP) for 32 years, and served as the sole Home Secretary u ...

at the

Board of Education A board of education, school committee or school board is the board of directors or board of trustees of a school, local school district or an equivalent institution. The elected council determines the educational policy in a small regional area, ...

Classical scholar

As a classical scholar, Raven's interests were in

ancient philosophy This page lists some links to ancient philosophy, namely philosophical thought extending as far as early post-classical history (). Overview Genuine philosophical thought, depending upon original individual insights, arose in many cultures ro ...

. In 1957 he published with Geoffrey Kirk ''The Pre-Socratic philosophers'', a standard work for

undergraduates Undergraduate education is education conducted after secondary education and before postgraduate education, usually in a college or university. It typically includes all postsecondary programs up to the level of a bachelor's degree. For example, ...

still in use today. Raven contributed the chapters relating to the Italian tradition (

Pythagoras of Samos Pythagoras of Samos (; BC) was an ancient Ionian Greek philosopher, polymath, and the eponymous founder of Pythagoreanism. His political and religious teachings were well known in Magna Graecia and influenced the philosophies of P ...

, Alcmaeon of Croton, Pre-Parmenidean

Pythagoreanism Pythagoreanism originated in the 6th century BC, based on and around the teachings and beliefs held by Pythagoras and his followers, the Pythagoreans. Pythagoras established the first Pythagorean community in the Ancient Greece, ancient Greek co ...

, Parmenides of Elea,

Zeno of Elea Zeno of Elea (; ; ) was a pre-Socratic Greek philosopher from Elea, in Southern Italy (Magna Graecia). He was a student of Parmenides and one of the Eleatics. Zeno defended his instructor's belief in monism, the idea that only one single en ...

Melissus of Samos Melissus of Samos (; ; ) was the third and last member of the ancient school of Eleatic philosophy, whose other members included Zeno and Parmenides. Little is known about his life, except that he was the commander of the Samian fleet in the Sam ...

, Philolaus of Croton and Eurytus of Croton) and on

Anaxagoras Anaxagoras (; , ''Anaxagóras'', 'lord of the assembly'; ) was a Pre-Socratic Greek philosopher. Born in Clazomenae at a time when Asia Minor was under the control of the Persian Empire, Anaxagoras came to Athens. In later life he was charged ...

and Archelaus. As Senior Tutor at King's in the 1960s he turned the college to the

left Left may refer to: Music * ''Left'' (Hope of the States album), 2006 * ''Left'' (Monkey House album), 2016 * ''Left'' (Helmet album), 2023 * "Left", a song by Nickelback from the album ''Curb'', 1996 Direction * Left (direction), the relativ ...

, telling public schools that their boys could no longer expect to "swan in", as previously. Raven was the undergraduate tutor of

Myles Burnyeat Myles Fredric Burnyeat (; 1 January 1939 – 20 September 2019) was an English scholar of ancient philosophy. Early life and education Myles Burnyeat was born on 1 January 1939 to Peter James Anthony Burnyeat and Cynthia Cherry Warburg. He re ...

, who subsequently became the fifth Laurence Professor of Ancient Philosophy at Cambridge University.

Botanist: The Heslop-Harrison fraud

While Raven's principal professional occupation was his career as a classical scholar, he applied a similar intellectual rigour to his amateur interest in botany. From the mid-1930s John Heslop-Harrison, Professor of Botany at Kings College, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, had reported significant new plant discoveries on expeditions to the Inner and

Outer Hebrides The Outer Hebrides ( ) or Western Isles ( , or ), sometimes known as the Long Isle or Long Island (), is an Archipelago, island chain off the west coast of mainland Scotland. It is the longest archipelago in the British Isles. The islan ...

. The sheer scale of the discoveries aroused scepticism, and in 1948 Raven secured a grant from Trinity College to fund a trip to Harris and Rùm in July and August of that year to investigate the claims of Heslop-Harrison. Raven's conclusions about two of the notable species were published, briefly, in ''Nature''. He suggested that both '' Carex bicolor'' and '' Polycarpon tetraphyllum'' were introductions to Rùm, but did not comment on the possible means of introduction. His full report of the expedition and fraud was deposited in the library of King's College, Cambridge on 5 May 1960, to attack Prof. Jack Heslop-Harrison's electron microscope research into plant genetics (DNA) and only published in full in 1999 after the deaths of both Heslop-Harrison, his son Jack Heslop-Harrison and Raven himself. In the report Raven alleged that at some time in the 1940s Heslop Harrison transported alien plants to the Isle of Rum and planted them in the soil; he then "discovered" the plants, claimed they were indigenous to the area and that he was the first to find them. Raven's report to the council of Trinity College states: "In the interests not only of truth but also of the reputation of British science it is essential somehow to discover what plants and what insects he (Heslop Harrison) has either completely fabricated or else deliberately introduced into the Hebrides." Raven's classical and botanical interests were brought together in four J. H. Gray Lectures given at Cambridge in 1976, published after his death as ''Plants and Plant Lore in Ancient Greece''.

Family

Raven married Constance Faith Alethea Hugh Smith; they had five children: the writer Sarah Raven, Anna Raven, the conservationist Andrew Raven, Hugh Raven, and Jane Raven. On marriage in 1954 John and Faith Raven purchased Docwra's Manor in Shepreth, near Cambridge, where they cultivated a garden which is now open to the public.Docwras Manor Garden website
/ref> Raven's family, through his wife Faith's inheritance, own the 35,000 acre Ardtornish Estate in Scotland. He died on 5 March 1980 in Shepreth, near Cambridge, aged 65. Following his death a group of friends contributed to a collection of essays to commemorate his life, published in 1981 as ''John Raven by his Friends''.

Selected publications

*''Pythagoreans and Eleatics: An account of the interaction between the two opposed schools during the fifth and early fourth centuries B.C'', Cambridge University Press, 1948 *''Mountain Flowers'' (with Max Walters), Collins 1956 *''The Presocratic Philosophers: A Critical History with a Selection of Texts'' (with G. S. Kirk), Cambridge University Press, 1957 *''Plato's Thought in the Making: a Study of the Development of His Metaphysics'', Cambridge University Press 1965 *''A Botanist's Garden'', Collins 1971 *''Pythagoreans and Eleatics'', Ares Pub 1981 *

References

Bibliography

* ''John Raven by his Friends'', Edited by John Lipscomb and R. W. David, Published privately by Faith Raven, 1981, (cited above as ''Raven'') {{DEFAULTSORT:Raven, John 1914 births 1980 deaths Academics from Cambridge People educated at Marlborough College Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Fellows of King's College, Cambridge English conscientious objectors English classical scholars British scholars of ancient Greek philosophy 20th-century English philosophers 20th-century English botanists Members of the University of Cambridge faculty of classics New Naturalist writers 20th-century English historians English male non-fiction writers 20th-century English male writers People from Shepreth