| Authorised form of name | Grew; Nehemiah (1641 - 1712); botanist and physiologist |
| Dates | 1641 - 1712 |
| Nationality | British |
| Place of birth | Mancetter, Warwickshire, England, Europe |
| Date of birth | 26 September 1641 |
| Date of death | 25 March 1712 |
| Dates and places | Baptism:
Mancetter, near Coventry, England, Europe (26 September 1641)
Burial:
The Dodson family vault, Cheshunt parish church, Hertfordshire, England, Europe (1 April 1712) |
| Occupation | Botanist; physiologist |
| Research field | Plant morphology |
| Plant anatomy |
| Chemistry |
| Activity | Education:
Pembroke College, Cambridge (BA 1649/50); Leyden (probably MD ?1671)
Career:
Practised in Coventry (1671) and then in London; deputy to Jonathan Goddard as professor of physic at Gresham College (1672); deputy to Walter Pope as astronomy professor (1675); compiled a catalogue of the Royal Society's repository; died suddenly while going on his rounds
Memberships:
Honorary Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians (1680) |
| Membership category | Fellow |
| Date of election | 02/11/1671 |
| Age at election | 30 |
| Proposer | Robert Hooke |
| Royal Society activity | Royal Society roles:
Sec 1677-1679; Council 1675, 1677-83, 1690, 1692; Plant Anatomy Curator 1672-1673 ; Editor Phil. Trans.:1677-1679 |
| Other Royal Society activity | Grew's work 'The Anatomy of Vegetables Begun' was licensed for publication (1671);
Catalogued the Royal Society's repository (1681) |
| Relationships | Parents: Obadiah Grew and Helen Sampson (née Vicars)
Siblings: half-brothers Henry Sampson and William Sampson
Married: Elizabeth Dodson |
| Published works | RCN: 41992
RCN: 18847
RCN: 41990
RCN: 18848
RCN: 18849
RCN: 41991
RCN: 41993 |
| General context | Grew's research on plant anatomy often overlapped with the work of Marcello Malpighi (FRS 1669). His primary research area was plant morphology and taxonomy and later plant physiology, for which he also used a microscope. Additionally, he was interested in the chemical analysis of materia medica and is also considered an important figure in dactyloscopy, the study of finger ridge patterns. |
| Related images | Discover a selection of related images in our picture library |
| Sources | Sources:
Bulloch's Roll; DNB; DSB; Venn; Hunter; Innes Smith
References:
Janet Browne, review of William LeFanu, Nehemiah Grew, MD, FRS: A Study and Bibliography of His Writings in NR 1991 vol 45 pp 115-116
Marie Boas Hall, 'The Early Years of the Royal Society', review of Michael Hunter, Establishing the New Science: the Experience of the Early Royal Society in NR 1990 vol 44 pp 265-268
Charles A Rivington, 'Addendum. Early Printers to the Royal Society, 1663-1708' in NR 1985-86 vol 40 pp 219-220
A D C Simpson, 'Newton's Telescope and the Cataloguing of the Royal Society's Repository' in NR 1983-84 vol 38 pp 187-214
Michael Hunter, 'Early Problems in Professionalizing Scientific Research: Nehemiah Grew (1641-1712) and the Royal Society, With an Unpublished Letter to Henry Oldenburg' in NR 1981-82 vol 36 pp 189-209
Michael Hunter, 'The Social Bias and Changing Fortunes of an Early Scientific Institution: An Analysis of the Membership of the Royal Society, 1660-1685' in NR 1976-7 vol 31 pp 9-114
Jeanne Bolam, 'The Botanical Works of Nehemiah Grew, FRS (1641-1712)' in NR 1972-3 vol 27 pp 219-231 |
| Virtual International Authority File | http://viaf.org/viaf/72195733 |
| Royal Society code | NA8411 |
| Reference number | Title | Date |
| RBO/4/61 | 'Of the Differences of Tastes' by Nehemiah Grew | 25 March 1675 |
| IM/004733 | Grew, Nehemiah | October 2004 |
| MM/4/71 | Letter from Nehemiah Grew to Henry Oldenburgh | December 1672 |
| RBO/6/16 | 'Description and use of the Pores in the Skin of the Hands and Feet' by Nehemiah Grew | nd |
| RBO/5/8 | 'The Anatomy of Leavs [Leaves]' by Nehemiah Grew | 1676 |
| RBO/5/10 | 'A Discourse concerning the Essentiall and Marine Salts of Vegetables' by Nehemiah Grew | 1676 |
| MM/20/55 | Letter from Thomas Henshaw to Robert Southwell | 16 May 1682 |
| RBO/5/11 | 'Experiments in Consort upon the dissolution of Salts in Water' by Nehemiah Grew | 18 January 1677 |
| DM/5/14 | Notes concerning the appointment of Curators to the Royal Society and costs incurred by them | 1660s |
| CLP/11i/18 | Paper, 'Of the luctation arising upon the mixture of bodies' by [Nehemiah Grew] | [1676] |
| NLB/13/568 | Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison, to Ernest H Smith, 154 Dennett Road, Croydon, Surrey | 8 October 1896 |
| NLB/15/485 | Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison, to Dr Johannes Bosscha, Haarlem, Holland | 13 October 1897 |
| MS/390/78 | Bond of Nehemiah Grew to the Treasurer of the Royal Society | 3 January 1682 |
| NLB/64/647 | Copy letter from Francis Alexander Towle, Assistant Secretary of the Royal Society; to the Superintendent of the Finger Print Identification Bureau, New Scotland Yard, London S.W.1 | 23 May 1923 |
| IM/001790 | Grew, Nehemiah | nd |
| DM/5/71 | Recommendation that seven persons (named) 'do take into their Custody all the Rarities, bookes and other goods and chattells belonging to the Royall Society' | 17th century |
| RBO/4/48 | 'Some breife observations concerning the nature of Snow' by Nehemiah Grew | 1672 |
| RBO/4/49 | 'Some observations of the Secondine or innermost cover of the seed of' by Nehemiah Grew | nd |
| MM/16/39 | Minutes of a committee 'for taking care of the repository of the Royal Society' | 3 February 1676 |
| IM/001789 | Grew, Nehemiah | nd |
| EL/L1/40 | Letter, from Antoni van Leeuwenhoek to Nehemiah Grew, dated at Delft | 25 April 1679 |
| CLP/10i/32 | Paper, 'The description of the American pottato [potato]' by Dr [Nehemiah] Grew | c. 17th century |
| CLP/12i/35 | Paper, 'Observationes aliquot variores de morboso liene' by Nehemia [Nehemiah] Grew | [1691] |
| CLP/14i/27 | Paper, 'Disputatio medico-physica liquore nervoso' by [Nehemiah] Grew | 16 July 1672 |
| EL/L1/34 | Letter, from Antoni van Leeuwenhoek to Nehemiah Grew, dated at Delft | 18 March 1678 |
| EL/N1/71 | Letter, from Francesco Nazari to Nehemiah Grew, dated at Rome | 7 December 1680 |
| EL/L5/62 | Letter, from Martin Lister to Nehemiah Grew | 1673 |
| EL/G1/34 | Letter, from Nehemiah Grew to Marcello Malpighi, dated at London | 1672 |
| EL/G1/35 | Paper, 'Some Remarques upon the next foregoing letter [to Marcello Malpighi] by Nehemiah Grew | 1672 |
| EL/G1/33 | Letter, from Nehemiah Grew to Henry Oldenburg, dated at Coventry | 12 March 1671 |
| EL/L1/39 | Translation of a letter, from Antoni van Leeuwenhoek to Nehemiah Grew, dated at Delft | 1678 |
| CLP/11i/19 | Paper, 'An essay, of the proportion of the fixed salt of one plant, or part of a plant, to the fixed salt of an other: and to all the other principles, in any one plant' by Nehemiah Grew | 8 March 1676 |
| EL/S2/5 | Letter, from Robert Sibbald to Nehemiah Grew, dated at Edinburgh | 25 September 1693 |
| EL/L1/38 | Letter, from Antoni van Leeuwenhoek to Nehemiah Grew, dated at Delft | 27 September 1678 |
| EL/L1/42 | Letter, from Antoni van Leeuwenhoek to Nehemiah Grew, dated at Delft | 13 June 1679 |
| EL/L1/37 | Translation of a letter, from Antoni van Leeuwenhoek to Nehemiah Grew, dated at Delft | 1678 |
| RBO/5/6 | 'Of the Luctation ariseing upon the Mixture of Bodys' by Nehemiah Grew | 1676 |
| CLP/10i/14 | Paper, 'Some further account of the pith' by Dr [Nehemiah] Grew | 12 June 1672 |
| EL/A/24 | Letter, from Joachim d' Alence to Henry Oldenburg, dated at Paris | 4 January 1676 |
| EL/L1/36 | Letter, from Antoni van Leeuwenhoek to Nehemiah Grew, dated at Delft | 31 May 1678 |
| EL/L1/35 | Translation of a letter, from Antoni van Leeuwenhoek to Nehemiah Grew | 1678 |
| EL/L1/39a | Photocopy of a letter, from Antoni van Leeuwenhoek to Nehemiah Grew, dated at Delft | 21 February 1679 |
| RBO/4/56 | 'Concerning the Nature, Causes and Power of Mixture' by Nehemiah Grew | 1674 |
| RBO/5/7 | 'A continuation of the Discourse concerning Luctation ariseing from the Mixture of Bodyes' by Nehemiah Grew | 1676 |
| RBO/5/12 | 'The comparative Anatomy of Animals begun' by Nehemiah Grew | 8 February 1676 |
| RBO/5/25 | Index, listing the experiments, enquiries & discourses contained in Register Book 5 | 1688 |
| EL/G1/36 | Letter, from Nehemiah Grew to Henry Oldenburg, dated at Coventry | 13 September 1673 |
| MC/14/105 | Letter from Elizabeth Grew, 19 Sutherland Gardens, Harrow Road, to the Secretary of the Royal Society | 22 February 1886 |
| MC/14/106 | Letter from Elizabeth Grew, 19 Sutherland Gardens, Harrow Road, to the Herbert Rix, Assistant Secretary of the Royal Society | 23 February 1886 |
| NLB/1/87 | Copy letter from Michael Foster, to Elizabeth Grew | 18 March 1886 |
| MC/14 | Volume 14 of miscellaneous correspondence regarding business matters, sent to the Royal Society | 1885-1888 |
| EL/R1/38 | Letter, from Salomon Reisel to Nehemiah Grew, dated at Stutgardiae [Stuttgart] | 25 July 1684 |