Thomas Croxen Archer


Thomas Croxen Archer FRSE FSA FRSSA was a British botanist, and the first Director of the National Museum of Scotland, a post he held from 1864 until his death in 1885.

Early life and education

Thomas Croxen Archer was born in 1817 in Hardingstone in Northamptonshire.

Career

From 1842 to 1856, he worked as a customs officer in Liverpool. He studied botany at the medical school in Liverpool and at Queen's College there, and went on to be Professor of Botany at the college.
Archer was Superintendent and then Director of the Industrial Museum of Scotland, from 1860 to 1864.
He was the first Director of the National Museum of Scotland, a post he held from 1864 until his death in 1885.
He was a member of the Royal Scottish Society of Arts from 1861, the Botanical Society of Edinburgh, and the Royal Society of Edinburgh.

Publications

Honours and awards

Personal life

On 27 December 1841, he married Mary Eleanor Salmon at St. Paul's, Deptford, London.
In 1861, he was living at 46 Gilmore Place, with his wife Mary Eleanor Archer, seven children and two other people.
In 1881, he was living at 5 West Newington Terrace, with two of his children and five other people.