Robert Brown (21 December 1773 – 10 June 1858) was a Scottish botanist and
palaeobotanist who made important contributions to botany largely through his pioneering use of the microscope. His contributions include one of the earliest detailed descriptions of the
cell nucleus and
cytoplasmic streaming; the observation of
Brownian motion; early work on plant
pollination and
fertilisation, including being the first to recognise the fundamental difference between
gymnosperms and
angiosperms; and some of the earliest studies in
palynology. He also made numerous contributions to plant taxonomy, including the erection of a number of plant families that are still accepted today; and numerous
Australian plant genera and species, the fruit of his exploration of that continent with
Matthew Flinders.