Men of Kent and Kentishmen/John Clayton

by John Hutchinson

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John Clayton,

BOTANIST,

Was born in Kent^[1] in 1693, but in what part is uncertain. In 1705 he went to Virginia, where his father was Attorney-General. There he practised physic, and was indefatigable in botanical researches. He sent observations on the natural history of Virginia to the Royal Society, which were published in the "Philosophical Transactions" (vols, xvii, xviii, and xli). He forwarded a collection of dried plants to Gronovius, who, in conjunction with Linnæus, described them in their treatise on Flora Virginica. Gronovius affixed the collector's name to a genus of plants, Claytonia. He died in 1773.

[See "Rose's Biographical Dictionary," "Barton's Medical Journal," &c.]

1. But some authorities say in Middlesex.