William Sole

William Sole (1739–7 February 1802) was a British apothecary and botanist.

William Sole
Born	1739 Witchford, Cambridgeshire.
Died	7 February 1802 Bath, Somersetshire
Burial place	St John the Baptist Church, Batheaston, Somersetshire
Nationality	English
Education	King's School, Ely, Cambridgeshire
Occupation	Apothecary, botanist
Parents	John Sole (father) Martha Sole (nee Rayner) (mother)
Relatives	John Rayner (maternal grandfather, banker of Ely) John (brother), Sarah (sister), Elizabeth (sister), Francis (brother), Robert (brother), Martha (sister) William Sole (nephew, apothecary) Rev. Arthur Baron Sole (great-nephew)

The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography states that William Sole was born in 1741 in Little Thetford, Cambridgeshire,[1] However, evidence suggest that he was born in 1739 and Baptised on 28 September[2] in Witchford, Cambridgeshire.

William Sole was the first son of John and Martha Sole. Sometime after his birth, the family moved to Little Thetford. William and Martha had a further six children.[3] John (baptised 14 June 1741), Sarah (baptised 15 May 1743), Elizabeth (baptised 24 February 1744), Francis (baptised 19 February 1748), Robert (baptised 13 May 1750), Martha (baptised 1752 3 October). In his will dated 15 March 1802,[4] Sole mentions all of his siblings, with the exception of Elizabeth.

Sole studied at the King's School, Ely, then served an apprenticeship as an apothecary in Cambridge. On qualifying, he moved to Bath.[5]

In his spare time, Sole undertook influential botanical research, specialising in the study of mints in his garden, where he tried to replicate natural conditions as closely as possible. In 1798, he published Menthae Britannicae, and the terminology he used in the text was adopted generally throughout the nineteenth century. He also researched grasses and the local flora of Bath, and was elected as one of the first associates of the Linnean Society.[5]

Sprengel named the genus Solea for Sole, although this was later merged into Hybanthus, or into Pombalia, in recent studies.[5][6]

References

1. The current 2004 edition of the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography gives Thetford in Norfolk, but older editions and contemporary documents state that Sole was born in Cambridgeshire.
2. "Record Details 5501eb45e93790e4c7026e04 | FreeREG". www.freereg.org.uk. Retrieved 22 March 2019.
3. "The famous of Little Thetford - Little Thetford .org". Retrieved 22 March 2019.
4. Will of William Sole, Apothecary of Bath, Somerset (PROB 11/1372/65 ). London: The National Archives. 13 March 1802.
5. "Sole, William", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. The first edition of this text is available at Wikisource: "Sole, William" . Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885–1900.
6. Juliana de Paula-Souza, Harvey Eugene Ballard, Jr. Re-establishment of the name Pombalia, and new combinations from the polyphyletic Hybanthus (Violaceae). Phytotaxa. volume 183. number 1. pages 11-15.