John Bellenden Ker ( ''Gawler'') was an English botanist, born about 1764, Ramridge, Andover, Hampshire, which was where he died in June 1842. On 5 November 1804, he changed his name to Ker Bellenden, but continued to sign his name as Bellenden Ker until his death. He was an unsuccessful claimant to the Roxburghe dukedom. His son was legal reformer

Charles Henry Bellenden Ker Charles Henry Bellenden Ker (1871) was an English barrister and legal reformer. Early life The son of John Bellenden Ker, he was born about 1785. As a young man, he was a patron of William Blake, though unwilling when it came to payment in 1810. ...

. He is noted for having written ''Recensio Plantarum'' (1801), ''Select Orchideae'' (c. 1816) and ''Iridearum Genera'' (1827). He contributed to

Curtis's Botanical Magazine ''The Botanical Magazine; or Flower-Garden Displayed'', is an illustrated publication which began in 1787. The longest running botanical magazine, it is widely referred to by the subsequent name ''Curtis's Botanical Magazine''. Each of the issue ...

under John Sims, using the initial G. He edited Edward's Botanical Register from 1815 to 1824 and was famous as a wit and botanist as well as being the author of ''Archaeology of Popular Phrases and Nursery Rhymes'' (1837). The 2nd volume of this work was published in 1840.

Robert Brown Robert Brown may refer to: Robert Brown (born 1965), British Director, Animator and author Entertainers and artists * Washboard Sam or Robert Brown (1910–1966), American musician and singer * Robert W. Brown (1917–2009), American printmaker ...

(1773–1858) named the genus '' Bellendena'' of the

Proteaceae The Proteaceae form a family (biology), family of flowering plants predominantly distributed in the Southern Hemisphere. The family comprises 83 genus, genera with about 1,660 known species. Australia and South Africa have the greatest concentr ...

in his honour in 1810. The state of

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

has named its second highest peak

Mount Bellenden Ker Mount Bellenden Ker is the second-highest mountain in Queensland, Australia, with a height of . It is named after the botanist John Bellenden Ker Gawler. Located south of Cairns, and near Babinda, it is adjacent to Mount Bartle Frere, the s ...

. The

Bellenden Ker Range The Bellenden Ker Range, also known as the Wooroonooran Range is a coastal mountain range in Far North Queensland, Australia. Part of the Great Dividing Range it is located between Gordonvale and Babinda. The whole of the range falls within t ...

in the same area was also named after him. His work on English

nursery rhyme A nursery rhyme is a traditional poem or song for children in Britain and other European countries, but usage of the term dates only from the late 18th/early 19th century. The term Mother Goose rhymes is interchangeable with nursery rhymes. Fr ...

s argued in four volumes that they were actually written in "Low Saxon", a hypothetical early form of Dutch. He then "translated" them back into English, revealing particularly a strong tendency to

anti-clericalism Anti-clericalism is opposition to clergy, religious authority, typically in social or political matters. Historically, anti-clericalism in Christian traditions has been opposed to the influence of Catholicism. Anti-clericalism is related to secul ...

.H. Carpenter and M. Prichard, ''The Oxford Companion to Children's Literature'' (Oxford University Press, 1984), p. 290.

Notes

Sources

*Ray Desmond (1994). ''Dictionary of British and Irish Botanists and Horticulturists including Plant Collectors, Flower Painters and Garden Designers''. Taylor & Francis and The Natural History Museum (London). * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ker, John Bellenden 1760s births 1842 deaths 19th-century English botanists People from Andover, Hampshire Date of birth missing 18th-century British botanists