Alfred James Ewart
Encyclopedia
Alfred James Ewart, FRS, (12 February 1872 - 12 September 1937) was an English
-Australia
n botanist.
Ewart was born in Toxteth Park, Liverpool
, England, second son of Edmund Brown Ewart, B.A. and his wife, Martha née Williams. Alfred was educated at the Liverpool Institute and University College, Liverpool, Ewart graduated Ph.D. at Leipzig University and D.Sc. at Oxford. He was a demonstrator of botany at Liverpool, and subsequently Science Master at King Edward's School, Birmingham
, and lecturer on botany at Birmingham University, where he was for a time deputy professor. In 1905 Ewart was appointed Professor of Botany at the University of Melbourne
. He had already completed a laborious and useful piece of work, his translation of Wilhelm Pfeffer
's treatise on The Physiology of Plants, the first volume of which was published in 1900, the second in 1903, and the third in 1906. He had also published First Stage Botany (1900), New Matriculation Botany (1902), of which many impressions were subsequently published under the title Ewart's Elementary Botany; On the Physics and Physiology of Protoplasmic Streaming in Plants (1903), and Rural Calendar (1905).
In 1906, Ewart became the foundation chair of botany and plant physiology at the University of Melbourne
. for the next 15 years Ewart was also government botanist. In 1909, in collaboration with James Richard Tovey, who conducted the field research, he published a useful work on The Weeds, Poison Plants and Naturalized Aliens of Victoria, and in 1917, in collaboration with Miss Olive B. Davies. The Flora of the Northern Territory. At the university Ewart had no separate building and for many years shared the biology school building with Sir Baldwin Spencer
. After World War I
a separate department for botany was built. In 1927 Ewart was asked by the government to prepare a new Flora of Victoria which, with some assistance from other scientists, was completed and published in 1930. Other works not already mentioned include a Handbook of Forest Trees for Victorian Foresters (1925), and many papers in scientific journals, some of which were reprinted as pamphlets. Ewart died suddenly on 12 September 1937. Ewart was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1922. Ewart was president of Section D (Biology) of the Australasian Association for the Advancement of Science meeting in Melbourne in 1921, and of Section M (Botany) at Perth
in 1926. He married twice, firstly to Florence Maud Donaldson, a violinist and composer of ability, in 1898 and secondly to Elizabeth Bilton in 1931. There were two sons of the first marriage.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
-Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n botanist.
Ewart was born in Toxteth Park, Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
, England, second son of Edmund Brown Ewart, B.A. and his wife, Martha née Williams. Alfred was educated at the Liverpool Institute and University College, Liverpool, Ewart graduated Ph.D. at Leipzig University and D.Sc. at Oxford. He was a demonstrator of botany at Liverpool, and subsequently Science Master at King Edward's School, Birmingham
King Edward's School, Birmingham
King Edward's School is an independent secondary school in Birmingham, England, founded by King Edward VI in 1552. It is part of the Foundation of the Schools of King Edward VI in Birmingham, and is widely regarded as one of the most academically successful schools in the country, according to...
, and lecturer on botany at Birmingham University, where he was for a time deputy professor. In 1905 Ewart was appointed Professor of Botany at the University of Melbourne
University of Melbourne
The University of Melbourne is a public university located in Melbourne, Victoria. Founded in 1853, it is the second oldest university in Australia and the oldest in Victoria...
. He had already completed a laborious and useful piece of work, his translation of Wilhelm Pfeffer
Wilhelm Pfeffer
Wilhelm Friedrich Philipp Pfeffer was a German botanist and plant physiologist who was born in Grebenstein.- Academic career :...
's treatise on The Physiology of Plants, the first volume of which was published in 1900, the second in 1903, and the third in 1906. He had also published First Stage Botany (1900), New Matriculation Botany (1902), of which many impressions were subsequently published under the title Ewart's Elementary Botany; On the Physics and Physiology of Protoplasmic Streaming in Plants (1903), and Rural Calendar (1905).
In 1906, Ewart became the foundation chair of botany and plant physiology at the University of Melbourne
University of Melbourne
The University of Melbourne is a public university located in Melbourne, Victoria. Founded in 1853, it is the second oldest university in Australia and the oldest in Victoria...
. for the next 15 years Ewart was also government botanist. In 1909, in collaboration with James Richard Tovey, who conducted the field research, he published a useful work on The Weeds, Poison Plants and Naturalized Aliens of Victoria, and in 1917, in collaboration with Miss Olive B. Davies. The Flora of the Northern Territory. At the university Ewart had no separate building and for many years shared the biology school building with Sir Baldwin Spencer
Baldwin Spencer
Winston Baldwin Spencer is the Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda. He has been Prime Minister since March 24, 2004, when his party, the United Progressive Party , which he had led as the opposition party for several years, won a parliamentary election...
. After World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
a separate department for botany was built. In 1927 Ewart was asked by the government to prepare a new Flora of Victoria which, with some assistance from other scientists, was completed and published in 1930. Other works not already mentioned include a Handbook of Forest Trees for Victorian Foresters (1925), and many papers in scientific journals, some of which were reprinted as pamphlets. Ewart died suddenly on 12 September 1937. Ewart was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1922. Ewart was president of Section D (Biology) of the Australasian Association for the Advancement of Science meeting in Melbourne in 1921, and of Section M (Botany) at Perth
Perth, Western Australia
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....
in 1926. He married twice, firstly to Florence Maud Donaldson, a violinist and composer of ability, in 1898 and secondly to Elizabeth Bilton in 1931. There were two sons of the first marriage.