William Aiton
William Aiton (* 1731 near Hamilton , Scotland , † February 1, 1793 in Kew , England ) was a British botanist . Its official botanical author abbreviation is " Aiton "; earlier it was also “ Ait. “Abbreviated.
Life
William Aiton was trained by the botanist Philip Miller and subsequently his assistant. In 1754 he traveled to Hawaii . Upon his return he became chief gardener of the Chelsea Physic Garden , the second oldest botanical garden in England. In 1759 he became head of the Botanical Gardens in Kew , which he raised with restless zeal, supported by royal generosity, to the richest in the world.
His Hortus Kewensis, or, a catalog the plants cultivated in the Royal Botanic Garden at Kew (London 1789, three volumes with illustrations) contains a description of 6,000 plants, including 14 new genera and almost 500 new species. The brevity, accuracy and certainty of the characteristics make this work a model. The editor of the second edition of this work, published from 1810 to 1813, was his son William Townsend Aiton (1766–1849), who was a gardener and succeeded his father as head of the Botanical Gardens in Kew.
Honors
Aitonia Thunb are named after William Aiton . from the mahogany family (Meliaceae).
Individual evidence
- ↑ Robert Zander : Zander hand dictionary of plant names . Ed .: Fritz Encke , Günther Buchheim, Siegmund Seybold . 13th, revised and expanded edition. Eugen Ulmer, Stuttgart 1984, ISBN 3-8001-5042-5 .
- ↑ Lotte Burkhardt: Directory of eponymous plant names . Extended Edition. Botanic Garden and Botanical Museum Berlin, Free University Berlin Berlin 2018. [1]
Web links
- Author entry and list of the described plant names for William Aiton at the IPNI
- Scan of the 1st edition of the Hortus Kewensis
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Aiton, William |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | British botanist |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 1731 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | near Hamilton , Scotland |
| DATE OF DEATH | February 1, 1793 |
| Place of death | Kew , England |