Robert William Theodore Gunther (23 August 1869 – 9 March 1940) was ahistorian of science,[1]zoologist, and founder of theMuseum of the History of Science,Oxford.[2]
Gunther's father,Albert Günther, wasKeeper of Zoology at theBritish Museum inLondon. Robert Gunther was educated atUniversity College School, attached toUniversity College London. Towards the end of his schooling he attended lectures at University College itself. He was elected to a four-yeardemyship atMagdalen College, Oxford, in 1887 and took this up in 1888. He joined theOxford University Scientific Club in his first term at Magdalen and subsequently he took up a Fellowship at the college.
In 1911, Gunther and his family moved to 5Folly Bridge, an unusual and distinctive tall house on a small island in theRiver Thames next to the bridge. This made the river central to his life. He was a pioneer ofenvironmental conservation in Oxford.
From 1923, Robert Gunther produced a fourteen volume set of books onEarly Science in Oxford, hismagnum opus, the last appearing in 1945. These were initially produced under the auspices of theOxford Historical Society and printed at theClarendon Press,Oxford. A fifteenth volume by his sonA. E. Gunther in 1967 covered Robert Gunther himself.[3]
Between 1926 and 1930, Gunther founded theMuseum of the History of Science in the OldAshmolean building, with some difficulty: it is apparent that few of his contemporaries shared his passion for historical scientific instruments, and indeed the Early Science series makes barbed comments about the failure of predecessors in various august bodies to preserve such things. The museum's initial collection was based on the scientific instrument collection of his friendLewis Evans, donated in 1924.[citation needed]
Gunther died after a short illness, while staying at a friend's house in the southOxfordshire village ofSouth Stoke. He and his wife, Amy, are buried atHeacham,Norfolk, in the Rolfe family plot, having written their family history. He was succeeded as Curator of the Museum of the History of Science byFrank Sherwood Taylor.
An archive of manuscripts collected by Gunther is held by the Museum of the History of Science.[4]
He was the son of Albert Günther, and his first wife Roberta Mitchell née McIntosh (1842–1869), sister ofWilliam M‘Intosh.
He married, in 1900, Amy née Neville-Rolfe, daughter of Eustace Neville-Rolfe CVO (1845–1908), HM Consul-General at Naples, and Emily Auber Frances née Thornhill (1844–1900). They had two sons: Eustace Rolfe Gunther (1902–1940) and Albert Everard Gunther (1903–1998).
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| Preceded by none | Curator of theMuseum of the History of Science, Oxford 1930–1940 | Succeeded by |
