Harry Bolus
Encyclopedia
Harry Bolus was a South African botanist, botanical artist, businessman and philanthropist. He advanced botany in South Africa by establishing bursaries, founding the Bolus Herbarium and bequeathing his library and a large part of his fortune to the South African College (now the University of Cape Town
). Active in scientific circles, he was a Fellow of the Linnean Society, member and president of the South African Philosophical Society (later the Royal Society of SA), awarded the SA Medal and Grant by the SA Association for the Advancement of Science and an honorary D.Sc. from the University of the Cape of Good Hope. Volume 121 of Curtis's Botanical Magazine was dedicated to him. He is commemorated in five genera: Bolusia Benth., Bolusafra Kuntze, Neobolusia Schltr., Bolusanthus Harms and Bolusiella Schltr., as well as numerous specific names.
, England. He was educated at Castle Gate School, Nottingham. The headmaster George Herbert regularly corresponded with and received plant specimens from William Kensit of Grahamstown, South Africa. Kensit requested that the headmaster send him one of his pupils as an assistant; Harry Bolus duly landed at Port Elizabeth from the ship Jane in March 1850. He spent two years with Kensit and then moved to Port Elizabeth. Following a short visit to England, he settled in Graaff-Reinet, where he would live for the next 19 years. In 1857 he married Sophia Kensit, the sister of William Kensit. Between 1858 and 1870 they had 3 sons and a daughter. In 1864 he lost his eldest son of six years, and Francis Guthrie
who had become a close friend, suggested his taking up botany to ameliorate his loss. He started his botanical collection in 1865 and was soon corresponding with Joseph Hooker
at Kew, William Henry Harvey
in Dublin and Peter MacOwan
in Grahamstown. One of his most treasured gifts was a copy of De Candolle
's Prodromus
received from Guthrie in 1869. In 1875 he joined his brother Walter in Cape Town, settling in the suburb of Kenilworth, where they founded a stockbroking firm called Bolus Bros. The following year he and Guthrie made their first visit to Kew, taking with them a large number of plant specimens for naming. Bolus described the period as 'forty happy days'. Returning in the Windsor Castle in October 1876, the ship struck a reef off Dassen Island with the loss of his specimens and notes. Not daunted, he set about the collection of new specimens and organised expeditions to various corners of South Africa. He was an excellent field botanist and published numerous books on his observations. Although adventurous by nature, he was also quiet and unassuming.
His business flourished so that many fine botanical books came into his possession. Complete sets of the Botanical Magazine, Botanical Register, Refugium Botanicum, and the large folios of Pierre-Joseph Redouté
, Nikolaus Joseph von Jacquin
, Ferdinand Bauer
and Francis Masson
formed part of his collection. He founded the Harry Bolus Professorship at the Cape University and left a large trust for scholarships. He also donated his extensive herbarium and library to the South African College. He was one of the founding Members of the South African Philosophical Society.
Harry Bolus loved visiting England and made a total of 28 voyages (14 each way) to and from South Africa. He died of heart failure at Oxford, Surrey, on the 25th of May, 1911. His youngest son Frank married Harriet Margaret Louisa Kensit, William Kensit's granddaughter, the following year.
, the English botanist and explorer Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker
and the South African writer and poet C. Louis Leipoldt
. Letters addressed to Bolus are archived in the Bolus Papers of the University of Cape Town Manuscripts and Archives Department
University of Cape Town
The University of Cape Town is a public research university located in Cape Town in the Western Cape province of South Africa. UCT was founded in 1829 as the South African College, and is the oldest university in South Africa and the second oldest extant university in Africa.-History:The roots of...
). Active in scientific circles, he was a Fellow of the Linnean Society, member and president of the South African Philosophical Society (later the Royal Society of SA), awarded the SA Medal and Grant by the SA Association for the Advancement of Science and an honorary D.Sc. from the University of the Cape of Good Hope. Volume 121 of Curtis's Botanical Magazine was dedicated to him. He is commemorated in five genera: Bolusia Benth., Bolusafra Kuntze, Neobolusia Schltr., Bolusanthus Harms and Bolusiella Schltr., as well as numerous specific names.
Biography
Bolus was born in NottinghamNottingham
Nottingham is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England. It is located in the ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire and represents one of eight members of the English Core Cities Group...
, England. He was educated at Castle Gate School, Nottingham. The headmaster George Herbert regularly corresponded with and received plant specimens from William Kensit of Grahamstown, South Africa. Kensit requested that the headmaster send him one of his pupils as an assistant; Harry Bolus duly landed at Port Elizabeth from the ship Jane in March 1850. He spent two years with Kensit and then moved to Port Elizabeth. Following a short visit to England, he settled in Graaff-Reinet, where he would live for the next 19 years. In 1857 he married Sophia Kensit, the sister of William Kensit. Between 1858 and 1870 they had 3 sons and a daughter. In 1864 he lost his eldest son of six years, and Francis Guthrie
Francis Guthrie
Francis Guthrie was a South African mathematician and botanist who first posed the Four Colour Problem in 1852. At the time, Guthrie was a student of Augustus De Morgan at University College London. He studied under John Lindley, Professor of Botany at the University of London. Guthrie obtained...
who had become a close friend, suggested his taking up botany to ameliorate his loss. He started his botanical collection in 1865 and was soon corresponding with Joseph Hooker
Joseph Dalton Hooker
Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker OM, GCSI, CB, MD, FRS was one of the greatest British botanists and explorers of the 19th century. Hooker was a founder of geographical botany, and Charles Darwin's closest friend...
at Kew, William Henry Harvey
William Henry Harvey
William Henry Harvey was an Irish botanist who specialised in algae.- Biography :William Henry Harvey was born at Summerville near Limerick, Ireland, in 1811, the youngest of 11 children. His father Joseph Massey Harvey, was a Quaker and prominent merchant...
in Dublin and Peter MacOwan
Peter MacOwan
thumb|rightPeter MacOwan born Hull, England on 14 November 1830 - died Uitenhage, Cape Province 30 November 1909, was a British colonial botanist and teacher in South Africa....
in Grahamstown. One of his most treasured gifts was a copy of De Candolle
A. P. de Candolle
Augustin Pyramus de Candolle also spelled Augustin Pyrame de Candolle was a Swiss botanist. René Louiche Desfontaines launched Candolle's botanical career by recommending him at an herbarium...
's Prodromus
Prodromus Systematis Naturalis Regni Vegetabilis
Prodromus Systematis Naturalis Regni Vegetabilis, also known by its standard botanical abbreviation Prodr. , is a 17-volume treatise on botany initiated by A. P. de Candolle. De Candolle intended it as a summary of all known seed plants, encompassing taxonomy, ecology, evolution and biogeography....
received from Guthrie in 1869. In 1875 he joined his brother Walter in Cape Town, settling in the suburb of Kenilworth, where they founded a stockbroking firm called Bolus Bros. The following year he and Guthrie made their first visit to Kew, taking with them a large number of plant specimens for naming. Bolus described the period as 'forty happy days'. Returning in the Windsor Castle in October 1876, the ship struck a reef off Dassen Island with the loss of his specimens and notes. Not daunted, he set about the collection of new specimens and organised expeditions to various corners of South Africa. He was an excellent field botanist and published numerous books on his observations. Although adventurous by nature, he was also quiet and unassuming.
His business flourished so that many fine botanical books came into his possession. Complete sets of the Botanical Magazine, Botanical Register, Refugium Botanicum, and the large folios of Pierre-Joseph Redouté
Pierre-Joseph Redouté
Pierre-Joseph Redouté , was a Belgian painter and botanist, known for his watercolours of roses, lilies and other flowers at Malmaison. He was nicknamed "The Raphael of flowers"....
, Nikolaus Joseph von Jacquin
Nikolaus Joseph von Jacquin
Nikolaus Joseph Freiherr von Jacquin or Baron Nikolaus von Jacquin. was a scientist who studied medicine, chemistry and botany....
, Ferdinand Bauer
Ferdinand Bauer
Ferdinand Lucas Bauer was an Austrian botanical illustrator who travelled on Matthew Flinders' expedition to Australia.-Biography:...
and Francis Masson
Francis Masson
Francis Masson was a Scottish botanist and gardener, and Kew Gardens’ first plant hunter.Masson was born in Aberdeen. In the 1760s he went to work at Kew Gardens as an under-gardener. Masson was the first plant collector to be sent from Kew by the newly-appointed director Sir Joseph Banks...
formed part of his collection. He founded the Harry Bolus Professorship at the Cape University and left a large trust for scholarships. He also donated his extensive herbarium and library to the South African College. He was one of the founding Members of the South African Philosophical Society.
Harry Bolus loved visiting England and made a total of 28 voyages (14 each way) to and from South Africa. He died of heart failure at Oxford, Surrey, on the 25th of May, 1911. His youngest son Frank married Harriet Margaret Louisa Kensit, William Kensit's granddaughter, the following year.
Correspondence
Harry Bolus corresponded widely with his contemporaries, including a number of famous people such as the Victorian naturalist Alfred Russel WallaceAlfred Russel Wallace
Alfred Russel Wallace, OM, FRS was a British naturalist, explorer, geographer, anthropologist and biologist...
, the English botanist and explorer Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker
Joseph Dalton Hooker
Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker OM, GCSI, CB, MD, FRS was one of the greatest British botanists and explorers of the 19th century. Hooker was a founder of geographical botany, and Charles Darwin's closest friend...
and the South African writer and poet C. Louis Leipoldt
C. Louis Leipoldt
Dr. Christian Frederik Louis Leipoldt was a South African poet, who wrote inthe Afrikaans language. Together with Jan F. E. Celliers and...
. Letters addressed to Bolus are archived in the Bolus Papers of the University of Cape Town Manuscripts and Archives Department
Collecting expeditions
- NamaqualandNamaqualandNamaqualand is an arid region of Namibia and South Africa, extending along the west coast over and covering a total area of 170,000 square miles/440,000 km². It is divided by the lower course of the Orange River into two portions - Little Namaqualand to the south and Great Namaqualand to the...
1883 - Eastern CapeEastern CapeThe Eastern Cape is a province of South Africa. Its capital is Bhisho, but its two largest cities are Port Elizabeth and East London. It was formed in 1994 out of the "independent" Xhosa homelands of Transkei and Ciskei, together with the eastern portion of the Cape Province...
with HG Flanagan and EE GalpinErnest Edward GalpinErnest Edward Galpin Ernest Edward Galpin Ernest Edward Galpin (born Grahamstown December 6, 1858 - October 16, 1941 Mosdene, Transvaal, was a South African botanist and banker. He left some 16,000 sheets to the National Herbarium in Pretoria and was dubbed "the Prince of Collectors" by General... - Lourenço MarquesMaputoMaputo, also known as Lourenço Marques, is the capital and largest city of Mozambique. It is known as the City of Acacias in reference to acacia trees commonly found along its avenues and the Pearl of the Indian Ocean. It was famous for the inscription "This is Portugal" on the walkway of its...
to BarbertonBarberton, MpumalangaBarberton is a town in the Mpumalanga province of South Africa, which has its origin in the 1880s gold rush in the region. It is situated in the De Kaap Valley and is fringed by the Mkhonjwa Mountains...
to PretoriaPretoriaPretoria is a city located in the northern part of Gauteng Province, South Africa. It is one of the country's three capital cities, serving as the executive and de facto national capital; the others are Cape Town, the legislative capital, and Bloemfontein, the judicial capital.Pretoria is...
to Cape TownCape TownCape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...
1886 - Orange Free StateOrange Free StateThe Orange Free State was an independent Boer republic in southern Africa during the second half of the 19th century, and later a British colony and a province of the Union of South Africa. It is the historical precursor to the present-day Free State province...
(Bester's Vlei, Witzieshoek, Mont-aux-Sources) with Flanagan 1893-94 - Transvaal and SwazilandSwazilandSwaziland, officially the Kingdom of Swaziland , and sometimes called Ngwane or Swatini, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa, bordered to the north, south and west by South Africa, and to the east by Mozambique...
1904-06
Publications
- A Preliminary list of the Cape orchids 1881
- Descriptions of the 117 Cape Peninsula orchids illustrated by 36 plates drawn and coloured by himself.
- A Sketch of the flora of South Africa 1886
- Icones Orchidearum Austro-Africanum Extra-tropicarum Volume 1 Part 1 comprising 50 plates 1893.
- Icones Orchidearum Austro-Africanum Extra-tropicarum Part 2 1896.
- Icones Orchidearum Austro-Africanum Extra-tropicarum Volume 2 comprising 100 plates 1911 (shortly after his death).
- Icones Orchidearum Austro-Africanum Extra-tropicarum Volume 3 edited by his grand-niece Miss HML Kensit, and containing 9 plates painted by his son Frank 1913.
- A list of flowering plants and ferns of the Cape Peninsula with Wolley-Dod
- Ericaceae for Flora Capensis with Francis GuthrieFrancis GuthrieFrancis Guthrie was a South African mathematician and botanist who first posed the Four Colour Problem in 1852. At the time, Guthrie was a student of Augustus De Morgan at University College London. He studied under John Lindley, Professor of Botany at the University of London. Guthrie obtained...
and NE BrownNE BrownNicholas Edward Brown was an English plant taxonomist and authority on succulents...