John Templeton (botanist): Difference between revisions

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==Biography==

Templeton was born at Orange Grove, [[Belfast]] in 1766 (some 68 years after it's being so named from [[William III of England|William of Orange]] having tethered his horse to a [[Sweet Chestnut|Spanish Chestnut]] tree beside the house on his way south from [[Carrickfergus]] to face the armies of [[James II of England|James II]] at the [[River Boyne]]). He married Katherine Johnson of Seymour Hill, on the outskirts of Belfast, the daughter of a Belfast merchant on [[21 December]] [[1799]]. The couple had five children: Ellen, born on 30 September 1800, Robert, born on 12 December 1802, Catherine, born on 19 July 1806, Mary, born on 9 December 1809 and Matilda on 2 November 1813.

The union between the two already prosperous merchant families provided more than ample means enabling Templeton to devote himself passionately to the study of natural history. Influenced by the [[French Revolution]], which many saw as lighting a beacon of enlightenment before the counter-revolutionary Civil War and the ensuing "Terror", Templeton was an early member of the [[United Irishmen]]. At once a fervent advocate of Irish independence from [[England]] he changed the name of the family home to ‘Cranmore’. Disillusionment came with the murders of a number of [[Protestantism|Protestants]] and the rise of sectarian [[Irish nationalism]], though he remained a strenuous and enlightened advocate of civil and religious liberty. Never of strong constitution, he was not expected to survive, <ref name="Deane 83">'''Deane, C.D.''' 1983. ''The Ulster Countryside.'' Century Books. ISBN 0 903152 17 7</ref> he was in failing health from 1815 and died in 1825 aged only 60, "leaving a sorrowing wife, youthful family and many friends and townsmen who greatly mourned his death". The Australian leguminous genus ''[[Templetonia]]'' is named for him. His son [[Robert Templeton|Robert]] became a famous [[entomologist]].