Julius Lucius Brenchley (30 November 1816 – 24 February 1873), of

Maidstone Maidstone is the largest Town status in the United Kingdom, town in Kent, England, of which it is the county town. Maidstone is historically important and lies east-south-east of London. The River Medway runs through the centre of the town, l ...

, was a 19th-century English explorer,

naturalist Natural history is a domain of inquiry involving organisms, including animals, fungi, and plants, in their natural environment, leaning more towards observational than experimental methods of study. A person who studies natural history is cal ...

and author.

Life

Born at Kingsley House,

, Kent, Julius Brenchley was educated at

Maidstone Grammar School Maidstone Grammar School (MGS) is a grammar school in Maidstone, England. The school was founded in 1549 after Protector Somerset sold Corpus Christi Hall on behalf of King Edward VI to the people of Maidstone for £200. The Royal Charter fo ...

and then

St John's College, Cambridge St John's College, formally the College of St John the Evangelist in the University of Cambridge, is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge, founded by the House of Tudor, Tudor matriarch L ...

. He was set for a life in the Church, having been ordained at Holy Trinity, Maidstone, in 1843. However, in 1845, his father persuaded Brenchley to accompany him on a European tour, and he was bitten by the travel bug. From 1845 to 1867 he travelled the world, collecting, recording and sending material home. He was a passionate collector of art, ethnography and natural history, and was called a "

gentleman ''Gentleman'' (Old French: ''gentilz hom'', gentle + man; abbreviated ''gent.'') is a term for a chivalrous, courteous, or honorable man. Originally, ''gentleman'' was the lowest rank of the landed gentry of England, ranking below an esquire ...

explorer". Travelling the globe in search of knowledge and adventure, he sent many artefacts from his travels home which are now on display in

Maidstone museum Maidstone Museum is a local authority-run museum located in Maidstone, Kent, England, featuring internationally important collections including fine art, natural history, and human history. The museum is one of three operated by Maidstone (bor ...

. A park adjacent to the museum, Brenchley Gardens, is named after him to honour his contributions, both cultural and financial, to the museum. During his travels, Brenchley visited every continent except Antarctica. He was especially active in the

South Seas Today the term South Seas, or South Sea, most commonly refers to the portion of the Pacific Ocean south of the equator. The term South Sea may also be used synonymously for Oceania, or even more narrowly for Polynesia or the Polynesian Triangle ...

. Brenchley spent much of his adult life exploring the world in his tireless search for knowledge. His life was shaped by his "passionate love of wandering". He never got married because he was too busy exploring. He died aged only 56, on February 24, 1873 in a

Folkestone Folkestone ( ) is a coastal town on the English Channel, in Kent, south-east England. The town lies on the southern edge of the North Downs at a valley between two cliffs. It was an important harbour, shipping port, and fashionable coastal res ...

hotel and is buried in the family vaults at All Saints' Church, Maidstone. He is known as a pre-eminent adventurer of his time.

Tributes

public park An urban park or metropolitan park, also known as a city park, municipal park (North America), public park, public open space, or municipal gardens (United Kingdom, UK), is a park or botanical garden in cities, densely populated suburbia and oth ...

in Maidstone is named Brenchley Gardens in his honour. Julius Brenchley is commemorated in the scientific name of a species of Chinese lizard, '' Eremias brenchleyi''.Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). ''The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . ("Brenchley", p. 38).

Publications

Brenchley published at least two books: *''A Journey to Great Salt Lake City'', 1861 *''Jottings during the cruise of H.M.S. Curac̜oa among the South Sea Islands in 1865'', 1873

References

External links

Brenchley Collection
A virtual museum displaying Julius Brenchley's Native North American artefacts, created by Canterbury Christ Church University and Maidstone Museum.
Account of the voyage of the Curacoa

La Nature ''La Nature'' (English: ''Nature'') was a French language magazine aimed at the popularization of science established in 1873 by French scientist and adventurer Gaston Tissandier. The magazine also received an enormous amount of time, effort, ...

(in French)
Internet Archive
Digitised ''Jottings during the cruise of HMS Curacoa among the South Sea islands in 1865'' 1816 births 1873 deaths People educated at Maidstone Grammar School English explorers English zoologists Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge {{UK-explorer-stub