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Article: Charles Greville (1749-1809). (The History of Mineral Collecting: 1530-1799)
- Article from:
- The Mineralogical Record
- Article date:
- November 1, 1994
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1994 The Mineralogical, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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The Rt. Hon. Charles Francis Greville, well known in England as one of the founders of the Royal Horticultural Society, was also among the country's most important and influential mineral collectors. He was born to an aristocratic family, the second son of Francis, 8th Baron Brooke and 1st Earl of Warwick. Nothing is known of his formal education, but by his 20's he was already interested in science and, probably through his friendship with Joseph Banks, was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1772.
Greville's first interest was minerals; in 1773 he acquired the large mineral collection of Ignaz von Born, then of Prague, and Greville continued to enlarge upon it ...