Regius Professor of Plant Science (Edinburgh)

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The Regius Professor of Plant Science , formerly Regius Professor of Botany and even earlier Regius Professor of Materia Medica and Botany, is a Regius Professorship in Botany at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland. The chair was founded in 1695. The Regius Professur of Botany was established by royal confirmation by Queen Anne I on March 17, 1710.

In addition to the Regius Professorship for Plant Science in Edinburgh, there are also Regius Professorships for Botany at the Universities of Aberdeen ( Regius Professor of Botany (Aberdeen) since 1912), University of Glasgow ( Regius Professor of Botany ) and Cambridge ( Regius Professor of Botany (Cambridge ) since 2009).

History of the chair

John Hutton Balfour , Regius Professor 1845 to 1879

The Physic Garden established by Andrew Balfour (1630–1694) with the assistance of Robert Sibbald , the forerunner of the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh , formed a point around which the Regius Professorship was formed. The first of them entrusted with the maintenance of the garden, James Sutherland not only expanded the gardens through land purchases, he published a catalog of the plants cultivated in the gardens and at the same time gave lectures on the medicinal properties of plants and botany. Botany was associated with the materia medica, i.e. pharmacy , and viewed as a branch of medicine . These lectures were continued from 1705 by Charles Preston (1660-1711), George Preston (1665-1749) and Charles Alston (1685-1760).

Sutherland was named "King's Botanist" (royal botanist) and the "Regius Keeper of the Royal Gardens" in 1695. In this function he was followed in 1715 by William Arthur and from 1716 by the aforementioned Charles Alston. From this point on, the functions of King's Botanist and Regius Keeper remained combined with the professorship. The incumbents were Regius Professor of Botany and King's Botanist (Keeper of the Royal Botanic Gardens).

It was only with John Hope that the connection with pharmacy was dissolved and botany continued as an independent subject. Hope was then referred to as Professor of Medicine and Botany, while his colleague Francis Home (1719-1813) took over this part of the subject as Professor of Materia Medica. Hope's successors were Regius Professor of Botany and King's Botanist (Keeper of the Royal Botanic Gardens).

This connection lasted until 1956, when the posts were filled with the death of then Professor William Wright Smith . In 1958, Robert Brown only took over the professorship. The position of Queens's Botanist was filled in 1967 by the Scottish botanist Harold Roy Fletcher , Ph.D., D.Sc., FRSE, VMH.

owner

Surname name suffix from to Remarks
James Sutherland 1699 1715 Sutherland was neither a doctor nor a university education. Nevertheless, through his work and diligence, he acquired a comprehensive knowledge of the botany of his time. The Hortus Medicus Edinburgensis published by Sutherland in 1683 was the first scientific work on botany in Scotland. It describes about 2000 plants in the gardens he looks after. This book also earned him the appointment of Regius Keeper and King's Botanist.
William Arthur 1715 A year after Queen Anne's death, Sutherland was replaced by William Arthur. Arthur was confirmed in office by King George I.
Charles Alston MD 1716 1760 Alston stood out as a stubborn opponent of Carl von Linné . He published some works, including an important work on opium. All of Alston's successors to William Wright Smith united the offices of Regius Professor, King's Botanist and Keeper of the Royal Botanic Garden. Alston animated medicine classes in Edinburgh and made an inventory of the species in the botanical garden.
John Hope MD 1768 1786 Hope headed the Royal Botanical Garden Edinburgh since 1761. In 1768 he was also Regius Professor of Medicine and Botany. Alston's pupil did not go so far in his sympathy as to reject the Linnaeus system, but he did complete a work that Alston had begun on the medicinal effects of plants.
Daniel Rutherford MA, 1786 1819 One of Rutherford's students was Robert Brown (1773-1858) after whom the Brownian movement was named.
Robert Graham MD 1820 1845 In his early years, Graham relocated the Botanical Gardens to Inverleigh Row. His deteriorating health caused him to be represented by Joseph Dalton Hooker. However, this was rejected as Graham's successor.
John Hutton Balfour MA, MD, MRCS, FRCS (Edin), FRS (Edin) 1845 1879 Like Graham before him, Balfour had held a professorship in botany at the University of Glasgow prior to his appointment. Balfour also became dean of the medical school. He added practical work to the curriculum. The botanical gardens were also considerably expanded by him, for example with a palm house, an arboretum and a good museum.
Alexander Dickson MD, LL.D. 1880 1887 Dickson was no longer referred to as a professor of medicine, but only as a professor of botany. He too had previously taught in Glasgow.
Isaac Bayley Balfour 1888 1922 Isaac was the son of John Hutton and settled early on botany as a subject. He studied at the Universities of Edinburgh, Würzburg and Strasbourg. He was the first student to graduate from Edinburgh with a D.Sc. in botany. In 1884 Isaac took over the Sheraridan Chair of Botany at the University of Cambridge. In 1888 he returned to Edinburgh to take over his father's former professorship. The expansion of the botanical gardens begun by his father was completed by Balfour Jr. Although Balfour was a specialist in the flora of China and the Himalayas with particular knowledge of rhododendrons , his most important skills were his organizational talent with which he advantageously reorganized the three departments he headed. Under Balfour the curriculum expanded and bacteriology, mycology and plant physiology were offered.
William Wright Smith Esq., MA, FRSE, FLS 1922 Dec 15, 1956 In 1956 the positions of the overseer of the Royal Botanical Garden Edinburgh, the Regius Keeper, and the Regius Professor of Botany, which were traditionally occupied in personal union, were separated.
vacant 1957 1958
Robert Brown Esq., B.Sc., Ph.D., FRS 1958 1978 Brown's father had laid out the botanical gardens for the Sultan of Morocco in Fez and was in the service of the Cairo Botanical Gardens at the time Robert was born. After training in Egypt and at English universities, Brown specialized in plant physiology. Under Brown's leadership, the Edinburgh botany student council became one of the best in the UK.
Michael Magson Yeoman Esq., B.Sc., M.Sc., Ph.D., FRSE 1978 1993
Unclear: Currently insufficient information to fill the gap.
Christopher John Lamb CBE, FRS 1999 Lamb was one of the first to apply the full range of molecular biology tools to seed resistance research. He did fundamental work in understanding defense reactions against infections in plants.
Karl John Oparka B.Sc., Ph.D .; FRSE 2005 Prior to his appointment, Oparka was Head of Cell Biology at the Scottish Seed Institute.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa Botany on the University of Edinburgh website; Retrieved December 5, 2016.
  2. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Harold R. Fletcher, William H. Brown: The Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh 1670-1970 . 1970; archive.org .
  3. ^ A new Regius Professor for the University . University of Cambridge Office of Communications, Cambridge Network, November 25, 2009;
  4. ↑ Announcement on the appointment of Harold Roy Fletcher as Queen's Botanist in Scotland. In: London Gazette , January 6, 1967.
  5. ↑ a b c George Thomas Bettany:  Hope, John (1725–1786) . In: Sidney Lee (Ed.): Dictionary of National Biography . Volume 27:  Hindmarsh - Hovenden. , MacMillan & Co, Smith, Elder & Co., New York City / London 1891 (English).
  6. ↑ a b c James Britten:  Alston, Charles . In: Leslie Stephen (Ed.): Dictionary of National Biography . Volume 1:  Abbadie - Anne. , MacMillan & Co, Smith, Elder & Co., New York City / London 1885 (English).
  7. ^ Hugo Arnot: The History of Edinburgh . W. Creech, 1779, p. 396.
  8. ↑ a b c d 1670 and all that: a brief chronology ; Chronology of the Royal Botanical Garden Edinburgh on the garden's website; Retrieved December 5, 2016.
  9. ^ A b Bernard Barham Woodward:  Rutherford, Daniel . In: Sidney Lee (Ed.): Dictionary of National Biography . Volume 50:  Russians - Scobell. , MacMillan & Co, Smith, Elder & Co., New York City / London 1897 (English).
  10. ↑ George Thomas Bettany:  Graham, Robert (1786-1845) . In: Leslie Stephen (Ed.): Dictionary of National Biography . Volume 4:  Beal - Beaver. , MacMillan & Co, Smith, Elder & Co., New York City / London 1885, p. 358 (English).
  11. ↑ a b c d e f g h Sir Isaac Bayley Balfour (1853–1922) on the University of Edinburgh website; Retrieved December 5, 2016.
  12. ^ A b George Thomas Bettany:  Balfour, John Hutton . In: Leslie Stephen (Ed.): Dictionary of National Biography . Volume 3:  Baker - Beadon. , MacMillan & Co, Smith, Elder & Co., New York City / London 1885 (English).
  13. ^ A b Communication on the appointment of William Wright Smith as Royal Keeper and Regius Professor of Botany at the University of Edinburgh. In: London Gazette , April 28, 1922.
  14. ^ Announcement about the appointment of Robert Brown as Regius Professor of Botany at the University of Edinburgh. In: London Gazette , October 3, 1958.
  15. ↑ a b c d Michael Yeoman: Obituary: Professor Robert Brown . In: The Independent , December 4, 1999.
  16. ^ A b Communication on the appointment of Michael Magson Yeoman as Regius Professor of Botany at the University of Edinburgh. In: London Gazette , March 3, 1978.
  17. ↑ Notice of the appointment of Christopher Lamb as Regius Professor of Plant Science at the University of Edinburgh. In: London Gazette , March 16, 1999.
  18. ↑ a b c Obituary for Professor Chris Lamb. In: The Telegraph , October 12, 2009.
  19. ↑ a b Communication about the appointment of Karl John Oparka as Regius Professor of Plant Science at the University of Edinburgh. In: London Gazette , November 22, 2005.