Robert Brown (botanist, born 1773)

The Right Honourable Robert Brown FRS FRSE FLS MWS.
Portrait by Henry William Pickersgill
Born	(1773-12-21)21 December 1773 Montrose, Scotland
Died	10 June 1858(1858-06-10) (aged 84) London, England[1]
Alma mater	University of Aberdeen University of Edinburgh
Known for	Brownian motion, Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae et Insulae Van Diemen
Parents	James Brown (father) Helen Brown, née Taylor (mother)
Awards	Fellow of the Linnean Society, foreign member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, foreign member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, Foreign Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
Scientific career
Fields	Botany
Institutions	British Museum
Author abbrev. (botany)	R.Br.

Robert Brown FRSE FRS FLS MWS (21 December 1773 – 10 June 1858) was a Scottish botanist and paleobotanist who made important contributions to botany largely through his pioneering use of the microscope. His contributions include one of the earliest detailed descriptions of the cell nucleus and cytoplasmic streaming; the observation of Brownian motion; early work on plant pollination and fertilisation, including being the first to recognise the fundamental difference between gymnosperms and angiosperms; and some of the earliest studies in palynology. He also made numerous contributions to plant taxonomy, notably erecting a number of plant families that are still accepted today; and numerous Australian plant genera and species, the fruit of his exploration of that continent with Matthew Flinders.