John Claudius Loudon
| John Claudius Loudon | |
|---|---|
John Claudius Loudon
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| Born |
8 April 1783 Cambuslang, Lanarkshire, Scotland |
| Died | December 14, 1843 (aged 60) 3 Porchester Terrace, London, England |
| Residence | London, England |
| Nationality | Scottish |
| Alma mater | University of Edinburgh |
| Spouse |
Jane Webb (m. 1830–1843, his death) |
John Claudius Loudon (8 April 1783 – 14 December 1843) was a Scottish botanist, garden designer and cemetery designer, author and garden magazine editor. He was the first to use the term arboretum in writing to refer to a garden of plants, especially trees, collected for the purpose of scientific study.
Loudon was born in Cambuslang, Lanarkshire, Scotland to a respectable farmer. Therefore as he was growing up, he developed a practical knowledge of plants and farming. As a young man, Loudon studied biology, botany and agriculture at the University of Edinburgh. When working on the layout of farms in South Scotland, he described himself as a landscape planner. This was a time when open field land was being converted from run rig with 'ferm touns' to the landscape of enclosure, which now dominates British agriculture.
Loudon developed a limp as a young man, and later became crippled with arthritis. He undertook a second Grand Tour of Europe and also visited the Near East. In 1826, crippled by rheumatism and arthritis, he had to endure an amputation at his right shoulder after a botched operation to correct a broken arm. He learnt to write and draw with his left arm and hired a draughtsman to prepare his plans. At the same time he cured himself of an opium habit that had been keeping the pain at bay.
In 1830 when Loudon was 47 years old, he asked a friend to invite the author of The Mummy!: Or a Tale of the Twenty-Second Century to lunch. He had recently reviewed and admired the inventions in this novel in an article published in his Gardener's Magazine. Set in 2126 AD, it is an early example of science fiction. England has become an absolute monarchy and it features an early Internet, espresso machines, and air-conditioning. The author was Jane Webb who, having been left penniless at 17 by the death of her father, had turned to writing as a profession. She had published the book anonymously. They married seven months later and had a daughter Agnes.
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