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Robert Chambers (1802-1871)

Robert Chambers (1802-1871). by Vicky Lee. Background. Born July 10, 1802 in Peebles, Scotland Prosperous, mill-owning family Father was cotton manufacturer One brother named William Born with feet deformity that made him handicapped so he stayed indoors and read books

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Robert Chambers (1802-1871)

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  1. Robert Chambers (1802-1871) by Vicky Lee

  2. Background • Born July 10, 1802 in Peebles, Scotland • Prosperous, mill-owning family • Father was cotton manufacturer • One brother named William • Born with feet deformity that made him handicapped so he stayed indoors and read books • Avid reader and intelligent at young age • Married Anne Kirkwood • 11 surviving children • Died on March 17, 1871 in St. Andrews

  3. Childhood • Much of childhood was during the Napoleonic Wars (1803-1815) • During the war, his father gave cloth on credit to French prisoners of war who never repaid him which led to debt and money troubles • 1813 - The family became bankrupt and moved from Peebles to Edinburgh where they lived in poverty • Chambers stayed in Peebles to finish his education, but could not afford to attend university

  4. Map of Scotland From Peebles to Edinburgh X

  5. Life Accomplishments • Moved to Edinburgh later at age 16 • Set up a bookshop selling books from his personal collection and his father’s library • His brother William joined him and after purchasing a hand press, they began to have success publishing books • First published material was a magazine series called The Kaleidoscope also known as Edinburgh Literary Amusement

  6. Life Accomplishments • Published a weekly magazine that grew popular called Chambers’ Edinburgh Journal on subjects such as history, religion, language, science • Moved on to educational materials, encyclopedias, dictionaries, etc. • Became W & R Chambers, a successful publishing company in Britain • Still exists today under the name of Chambers Harrap Publishers • Gained fame and drew many well-known visitors to their bookshop including Sir Walter Scott the novelist/poet

  7. Academic Accomplishments • During 1830s, he took an interest in geology • Geological Society of London fellow(1844) • Royal Society of Edinburgh member (1840) • Published his first geological book Ancient Sea Margins (1848) • Toured Scandinavia and Canada for geological exploration • Published Tracings of the North of Europe (1851) and Tracings in Iceland and the Faroe Islands (1856) as a result of his exploration

  8. Academic Accomplishments • Philanthropy: gave money to restore St Giles' Cathedral in Edinburgh • Candidate for the administrative position of Lord Provost of Edinburgh • Received an honorary law degree from St. Andrew’s • Elected a member of the Athenaeum Club in London • 1851 – Joined publisher John Chapman to work on Westminster Review to spread ideas of evolutionism • Most famous for his anonymous 400-page book Vestiges of the Natural History of Creation (1884)

  9. Vestiges of the Natural History of Creation • Prior to Charles Darwin’s book • Read not only by scientific society, but also middle and lower class due to lower costs for publishing • Contained a history of the Earth that detailed the Solar System creation, plant and animal life development, and human conception • Nebular hypothesis to explain Solar System formation • Spontaneous generation to explain origins of life • Believed in evolution, the development theory, and progress of nature

  10. Vestiges of the Natural History of Creation • Used geology to exhibit a progression in the fossils from simple to more complex organisms to humans • Basically all that currently exists developed from earlier forms (solar system, Earth, rocks, marine plants, corals, fish, land plants, reptiles, birds, mammals, and humans) • Rejects testimony in Genesis and implies that God is not the force behind natural and social hierarchies

  11. Vestiges of the Natural History of Creation • Very controversial and received much criticism • People didn’t like the idea that humans evolved from the lower animals • Remained anonymous in order to protect his publishing company from getting criticism • Author of book was finally revealed in 1884 in the book’s 12th edition • Forty years after Chambers had died • Despite the controversy, the book sold over 20,000 copies in a decade which is considered a best seller

  12. List of Works • The Kaleidoscope, or Edinburgh Literary Amusement. October, 1821-January, 1822. • Illustrations of the Author of Waverley. 1822. • Traditions of Edinburgh. 1824. • Notices of the Most Remarkable Fires with have Occurred in Edinburgh. 1825. • Walks in Edinburgh. 1825. • Popular Rhymes of Scotland. 1826. • Picture of Scotland. 1827. • History of the Rebellion of 1745. 1828. • Scottish Ballads. 1829. • Scottish Songs. 1829. • The Picture of Stirling. 1830. • Life of King James I. 1830. • Gazetteer of Scotland (with William Chambers). 1832. • Scottish Jests and Anecdotes. 1832. • Life of Sir Walter Scott. 1832. • History of Scotland. 1832. • Reekiana, or Minor Antiquities of Edinburgh. 1833. • Biographical Dictionary of Eminent Scotsmen. 1833-1835. • Life and Works of Burns (based on Currie's edition). 1834. • Jacobite Memoirs of the Rebellion. 1834. • History of the English Language and Literature. 1835.

  13. More Works • Poems. 1835. • The Land of Burns (with Professor John Wilson). 1840. • Cyclopaedia of English Literature (with Robert Carruthers). 1840. • History of the Rebellion of 1745. 1840. • Vestiges of Natural History of Creation(published anonymously). 1844. • Twelve Romantic Scottish Ballads. 1844. • Explanations: A Sequel (published anonymously). 1845. • Select Writings of Robert Chambers, in seven volumes. 1847. • Ancient Sea Margins. 1848. • Tracings of the North of Europe. 1851. • Life and Works of Robert Burns. 1851. • Tracings of Iceland and the Faroe Islands. 1856. • Domestic Annals of Scotland. 1859-1861. • Sketch of the History of Edinburgh Theatre Royal. 1859. • Memoirs of a Banking House, by Sir William Forbes (ed. R. Chambers). 1859. • Edinburgh Papers. 1861. • Songs of Scotland Prior to Burns. 1862. • Preface to Daniel Dunglas Home: Incidents in My Life, first series. 1863. • The Book of Days. 1864. • Life of Smollett. 1867. • The Threiplands of Fingask.1880.

  14. Summary • Started a successful publishing company that still exists today • Believed in evolution prior to Charles Darwin • Believed in the development theory and progress of nature • Used fossil as evidence to show progression of nature • Chambers’ book Vestiges set the stage for Darwin’s theory of evolution and natural selection

  15. References • http://www.chambersharrap.co.uk/chambers/about/index.shtml • http:// www.thebookofdays.com/about_chambers.htm • http://www.victorianweb.org/science/chambers.html • http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/history/auchambers.html

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