Biography

British apothecary, physician and amateur botanist. The exact date of Samuel Dale's birth is not known, but he was baptised in 1659. His father, North Dale, was a silk thrower in north-east London. At the age of 16 Samuel was apprenticed to an apothecary named Thomas Wells and he trained for eight years, moving to Braintree, Essex, in 1680. Here he practised as an apothecary and was married to a lady by the unusual name of Judah, although her surname is not known. The pair had six children but only one of them out-lived him, a daughter named Christian.

At the same time Dale began to pursue an interest in botany. He befriended and studied under the famous naturalist John Ray, who also lived near Braintree. Dale undertook regular excursions into the surrounding area, particularly to Harwich in Sudbury, collecting plants both professionally for his apothecary business, and for pleasure. Although a student of Ray, Dale was a great help to him in many of his projects, particularly the Synopsis methodica stirpium Britannicarum (1690) and later with his Historia (published in 1710, after Ray's death). Dale also began to produce his own works; Pharmacologia (1893) contained the descriptions of many plants and their medicinal uses, and between 1892 and 1736 he published nine papers in Philosophical Transactions on non-botanical topics. Most importantly, though, was his section on natural history which appeared in Silas Taylor's The History and Antiquities of Harwich and Dovercourt and covered marine and terrestrial plants, fossils and major zoological groups. In later life, perhaps around 1729, Dale gained a physicians degree and practised for the final nine or ten years of his life.

Dale was a member of Braintree's governing body, the 'Council of 24', and acted as their secretary for many years. He also had strong religious views and was an avid Dissenter, taking on the role of Deacon in the Dissenting Congregation of Braintree. After the death of his first wife, Dale married a second time to Sarah Finch, although he had no more children.

Sources:
M. Christy, 1919, "Samuel Dale (1659?-1739) of Braintree, botanist and the Dale family: some genealogy and some portraits", Essex Naturalist, 19: 49-69
H.B. Dale, 1923, "The Dale Family", Essex Naturalist, 20: 227
G.S. Boulger, 2004, "Dale, Samuel (bap. 1659, d. 1739)", rev. Juanita Burnby, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography:
http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/7016, accessed 23 Sept 2010.