Brown, Robert (1773-1858), was a Scottish botanist. He was the first person to describe the general occurrence of the nucleus in living cells, and he gave it the name nucleus. In 1827, he described the agitation of microscopic particles that is now called Brownian motion. He named the world’s largest flower, the giant rafflesia of Sumatra. This flower can grow more than 3 feet (90 centimeters) wide. Brown also began the study of plant fossils, using a microscope. Brown was born in Montrose, Scotland. He became curator at the British Museum. See also Suspension.
