Robert Brown
A botanist who discovered the nucleus in plant cells and described Brownian motion, the random movement of particles in a fluid.
Most quoted
"I have, however, been enabled to satisfy myself that the particles or molecules of the pollen of plants, and indeed of many other organic as well as inorganic bodies, when suspended in water, are in a state of constant and rapid oscillatory motion."
— from A Brief Account of Microscopical Observations Made in the Months of June, July, and August, 1827, on the Particles Contained in the Pollen of Plants; and on the General Existence of Active Molecules in Organic and Inorganic Bodies., 1827
"This motion was such as to satisfy me, after frequently repeated observation, that it was not caused either by currents in the fluid, or by its gradual evaporation, but belonged to the particle itself."
— from A Brief Account of Microscopical Observations Made in the Months of June, July, and August, 1827, on the Particles Contained in the Pollen of Plants; and on the General Existence of Active Molecules in Organic and Inorganic Bodies., 1827
"This motion was such as to satisfy me, after frequently repeated observation, that it arose neither from currents in the fluid, nor from its gradual evaporation, but belonged to the particle itself."
— from A Brief Account of Microscopical Observations Made in the Months of June, July, and August, 1827, on the Particles Contained in the Pollen of Plants; and on the General Existence of Active Molecules in Organic and Inorganic Bodies, 1827
All quotes by Robert Brown (343)
In the vast silence of the Australian outback, I heard the distinct voice of a separate creation.
Facts are stubborn things; their interpretation requires flexibility of thought.
The history of the Earth is inscribed in the distribution of its plants.
There are no trivial observations in nature, only trivial observers.
The unity of life is found in the cell; the diversity of life in its modifications.
I measured the unmeasurable: the activity of atoms, seen through their effect on the visible.
A system of nature is a work in progress, ever amended by new discovery.
The botanist's task is to be the librarian of the living world.
Curiosity is the compass that leads through the wilderness of the unknown.
What we call 'Brownian motion' is nature's own signature, written in tiny, trembling letters.
The difference between a weed and a flower is often a matter of human perspective, not botanical fact.
In science, the credit goes to the man who convinces the world, not to the man to whom the idea first occurs.
The intricate design of an orchid is evolution's masterpiece of persuasion.
To collect is to possess; to classify is to comprehend.
The physical world is in perpetual agitation; life is but a structured part of that dance.
A single specimen, thoroughly understood, can illuminate an entire family.
The great book of nature is written in the language of cells and tissues.
Do not fear complexity; fear only the unwillingness to unravel it.
My 'discovery' was merely the act of noticing what was always there, waiting to be seen.
The seed carries the past and the future in its dormant heart.
Contemporaries of Robert Brown
Other Biologys born within 50 years of Robert Brown (1773–1858).