Richard Thomas Lowe

Richard Thomas Lowe ( born December 4, 1802 in Derbyshire, † April 13, 1874 at sea close to the Isles of Scilly ) was an English clergyman and an amateur naturalist. The pronunciation of the name was rather [ laʊ ] as [ loʊ ].

Life and work

Richard Thomas Lowe received his schooling in Brewood (Staffordshire) and then studied at Christ 's College, Cambridge, made here in 1825 the Bachelor and Master of Arts in 1831; as a teacher impressed him especially John Stevens Henslow. In 1825 he received the initiations and then visited with his mother Madeira to restore their health. In 1832 he was there even an Anglican chaplain ( in the wake of the continental blockade against Napoleon kept Britain from 1807 to 1814, the Portuguese archipelago of Madeira occupied and many Britons settled here, partly because of the wine - exports). In 1854 Reverend Lowe worked as Rector in Lea ( Lincolnshire ) and wrote A manual flora of Madeira and the Adjacent islands of Porto Santo and the Deserted (1868 ). In the course of investigations on particular problems, he traveled a few times to Madeira - last ( with his wife Catherine) on April 13, 1874, but got the ( new ) steamship " Liberia " soon in a severe storm and sank near the dreaded Isles of Scilly. , where all on board were drowned.

He also wrote A history of the fishes of Madeira ( 1843-60 ) and a number of individual works of natural science, even conchyliologischen, contents - Its botanical and zoological author name is Lowe - named after him are about: .. Omosudis lowii ( a deep-sea fish), Octolasmis lowei ( by Charles Darwin; Cirripedia ).

As a clergyman this always enterprising spirit has provoked a major scandal in which he went so far as to establish a new ( traditionalist ) sect - see Rodney Bolt: Madeira & Porto Santo and Roy Nash.

Writings (selection )

• Florulae Salvagicae Tentamen or a list of plants collected in the Salvage or Salvage Islands. John van Voorst, London 1869 (online).