William Brooks Johnson
William Brooks Johnson (1763–1830) (also Brookes) was an English physician and botanist.
Life
[edit]He was educated at Repton School and admitted to Christ's College, Cambridge in 1783, graduating M.B. in 1789.[1] He became a medical practitioner with a particular interest in botanical chemistry. He resided at Coxbench Hall, Derbyshire and was a member of the Derby Philosophical Society where he received encouragement from Erasmus Darwin. He associated with Jonathan Stokes and Smithson Tennant.[2]
In 1791 Johnson joined the Derby Constitutional Society. With Henry Redhead Yorke, he wrote the French Revolution-inspired "Derby Address". They took it to Paris, to present to the Constitutional Convention.[3] In 1791 Johnson joined the Derby Constitutional Society. With Henry Redhead Yorke, he wrote the French Revolution-inspired "Derby Address". They took it to Paris, to present to the National Convention.[4] Johnson in 1792 lodged with Tom Paine in the Faubourg Saint-Denis. Both Johnson and Yorke associated with the "British Club" of ex-patriate supporters of the Revolution. They broke with it, however, in 1793, over a resolution of the Club in favour of a French invasion of Great Britain. Yorke left, accused of spying for the British.[5]
Works
[edit]Johnson was author of History of the Progress and Present State of Animal Chemistry published in three volumes in 1803.[6] It had an extended review in The Monthly Review for October 1805, which concluded that it was "a laborious collection of facts".[7] From the point of view of clinical chemistry, somewhat neglected at the end of the 18th century, Rosenfeld regards Johnson's work as attempting "to present the subject on a larger scale and with a more connected and systematic arrangement."[8]
Notes
[edit]- ^ "Johnson, William Brookes (JHN783WB)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
- ^ Smith, Christopher Upham Murray; Arnott, Robert (2005). The Genius of Erasmus Darwin. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. p. 182. ISBN 978-0-7546-3671-7.
- ^ Jenny Graham (2000). The Nation, the Law, and the King: Reform Politics in England, 1789–1799. Vol. 1. University Press of America. pp. 372–373. ISBN 0-7618-1484-1.
- ^ Jenny Graham (2000). The Nation, the Law, and the King: Reform Politics in England, 1789–1799. Vol. 1. University Press of America. pp. 372–373. ISBN 0-7618-1484-1.
- ^ Goodrich, Amanda (2014). "Radical "Citizens of the World," 1790–95: The Early Career of Henry Redhead Yorke". Journal of British Studies. 53 (3): 617. doi:10.1017/jbr.2014.103. ISSN 0021-9371. JSTOR 24701791.
- ^ Johnson, William B. (1803). History of the Progress and Present State of Animal Chemistry. J. Johnson.
- ^ Griffiths, Ralph; Griffiths, George Edward (1805). The Monthly Review. R. Griffiths. pp. 122–133.
- ^ Rosenfeld, Louis (8 October 2018). Four Centuries of Clinical Chemistry. Routledge. p. 86. ISBN 978-1-351-44732-4.
