Ralph Randles Stewart
Encyclopedia
Dr. Prof. Ralph Randles Stewart (April 15, 1890 – November 6, 1993) usually referred to as R. R. Stewart, was an American
botanist who spent his career teaching and studying plants in Pakistan
.
. Stewart obtained his Ph.D. degree (1916) from Columbia University
, New York
; D.Sc. Honorary (1953) from the University of the Punjab
, Lahore
and LLD Honorary (1963) from Alma College
, Michigan, USA.
in 1911 to teach elementary Botany
and Zoology
to pre-medical students. He served as Professor in Botany (1917-1960) and Principal Gordon College, Rawalpindi (1934-1954).
Dr. Stewart moved to USA and worked as Research Associate (1960-1981) at the University of Michigan
Herbarium with over 30,000 plant specimens collected from India, Kashmir, Iran etc.
. The Stewart Collection has now been deposited in the National Herbarium of the Government of Pakistan at Islamabad thus leaving a very rich heritage for the students of plant sciences.
Dr. Stewart has remained as the real stalwart of systematic botany in Pakistan having spent more than 50 years in the Indo-Pakistan subcontinent. Dr. Stewart has made comprehensive reports on the Flora of N. W. Himalayas, Western Tibet, Kashmir, Kurram Valley, Flora of Balochistan and Grasses of West Pakistan. Apart from collecting flowering plants, Dr. Stewart also made a scientific contribution in the collection of mosses, plant disease specimens like rusts, smuts and fleshy fungi which have since been published in Mycologia by Dr. Arthur and Dr. Cummins of Purdue University
. One of his most important contributions "An Annotated Catalogue of Vascular Plants of Pakistan and Kashmir (1972)" serves as the basis of writing the Flora of Pakistan edited by E. Nasir and S.I. Ali (1970-1988), S. I. Ali and Y. J. Nasir (1989-1991) and S. I. Ali and M. Qaiser (1992-).
Dr. Stewart again came to Pakistan in 1990 to attend and make a presentation at the International symposium on Plant life of South Asia. The symposium was organized at the Department of Botany, University of Karachi, to commemorate the Centenary of Dr. Stewart. The participation of Dr. Stewart at the symposium is indicative of his interest of plant sciences and specially his love for Pakistan.
In 1982, at the age of 91, Dr. Stewart wrote a sort of memoir entitled, "Flora of Pakistan: History and Exploration of Plants in Pakistan and Adjoining Areas," in which he wrote: "As a fresh graduate of Columbia University in New York City," he wrote (at the age of 91), "I began to lecture in Botany and Zoology in a tiny Presbyterian Mission college in Rawalpindi with only 86 students. I had a three-year appointment and not expecting to be in India again, I wondered what would be the most interesting way to spend the two summers I expected to have in the East, on a slender budget (my salary was $600 a year with a room in a dormitory). In 1911, with four young men (two Americans, a Bengali and a Scot) who wanted an adventurous summer vacation, we decided that a good way to utilize the summer of 1912 would be to hike in Kashmir and Western Tibet (Ladak). Two of us worked in Gordon College, Rawalpindi, at the beginning of the cart road to Kashmir constructed in 1890 with a good deal of cost and difficulty. It crossed the first Himalayan Range at Jhicca Gali near Murree (2100 m), descended to the Jhelum River at Kohala and then followed the river to Srinagar, a distance of 196 miles. We had nearly three months of vacation and we left Rawalpindi at the beginning of July on our push-bikes. It was still in the horse a buggy age, just before the Model-T Fords and the buses began to carry visitors to Kashmir. Our cook and baggage traveled in a one-horse, springless vehicle called an ekka. I was the only botanist in the party. The other were interested in taking pictures and seeing new country. We spent the summer in Kashmir and Ladak and I enjoyed the trip so much that I helped organize an even longer expedition for the summer of 1913. We again rode bicycles to the Kashmir Valley and again hiked to Leh, the capital of Ladak. Instead of returning to Kashmir we turned east from Leh, crossed the Rupshu plains and entered Lahul by the Baralacha Pass; left Lahul by the Rotang La, visited Kulu and then walked further east to Simla and returned home from there by train."
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
botanist who spent his career teaching and studying plants in Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
.
Education
He was born in New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. Stewart obtained his Ph.D. degree (1916) from Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
; D.Sc. Honorary (1953) from the University of the Punjab
University of the Punjab
University of the Punjab , colloquially known as Punjab University, is located in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. The University of the Punjab is the oldest and biggest University of Pakistan. The University of the Punjab was formally established with the convening of the first meeting of its...
, Lahore
Lahore
Lahore is the capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab and the second largest city in the country. With a rich and fabulous history dating back to over a thousand years ago, Lahore is no doubt Pakistan's cultural capital. One of the most densely populated cities in the world, Lahore remains a...
and LLD Honorary (1963) from Alma College
Alma College
Alma College is a private, liberal arts college located in Alma, Michigan. The enrollment is approximately 1,400 students, and the college is accredited by the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools. The college's 13th President, Dr...
, Michigan, USA.
Career
On a call from the UP Church, India, Dr. Stewart joined the Gordon College, RawalpindiRawalpindi
Rawalpindi , locally known as Pindi, is a city in the Pothohar region of Pakistan near Pakistan's capital city of Islamabad, in the province of Punjab. Rawalpindi is the fourth largest city in Pakistan after Karachi, Lahore and Faisalabad...
in 1911 to teach elementary Botany
Botany
Botany, plant science, or plant biology is a branch of biology that involves the scientific study of plant life. Traditionally, botany also included the study of fungi, algae and viruses...
and Zoology
Zoology
Zoology |zoölogy]]), is the branch of biology that relates to the animal kingdom, including the structure, embryology, evolution, classification, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinct...
to pre-medical students. He served as Professor in Botany (1917-1960) and Principal Gordon College, Rawalpindi (1934-1954).
Dr. Stewart moved to USA and worked as Research Associate (1960-1981) at the University of Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
Herbarium with over 30,000 plant specimens collected from India, Kashmir, Iran etc.
Awards
Dr. Stewart is one of the few persons who has served Pakistan throughout his active life. In recognition of his services to educational and botanical work, Dr. Stewart was awarded Kaiser-e-Hind (Emperor of India) gold medal 1938, Sitara-e-Imtiaz (Star of Distinction) 1961, Member American Association for Advancement of Sciences 1984, foreign member Pakistan Academy of Sciences 1983.Activities in life
Since at that time the flora of India and Western Himalayas was not well known, Dr. Stewart therefore embarked on collection trips, often going on his pushbike, and went as far as the capital of Kashmir and then crossed into Western Tibet on foot. He continued to collect plants every summer (1912-1959) without any financial support from anyone. In 1960, when Dr. Stewart retired at the age of 70 years, he gave his collection of over 50 thousand plant specimens, now called the Stewart Collection, to Professor E. Nasir at Gordon College (Rawalpindi)Gordon College (Rawalpindi)
Gordon College Rawalpindi is a college in Rawalpindi, Pakistan that was established as a school in 1893.Gordon's college year is made up of annual system: in which the examination are held once every year. Enrollment at Gordon College is in thousands of students, with around hundreds living on campus...
. The Stewart Collection has now been deposited in the National Herbarium of the Government of Pakistan at Islamabad thus leaving a very rich heritage for the students of plant sciences.
Dr. Stewart has remained as the real stalwart of systematic botany in Pakistan having spent more than 50 years in the Indo-Pakistan subcontinent. Dr. Stewart has made comprehensive reports on the Flora of N. W. Himalayas, Western Tibet, Kashmir, Kurram Valley, Flora of Balochistan and Grasses of West Pakistan. Apart from collecting flowering plants, Dr. Stewart also made a scientific contribution in the collection of mosses, plant disease specimens like rusts, smuts and fleshy fungi which have since been published in Mycologia by Dr. Arthur and Dr. Cummins of Purdue University
Purdue University
Purdue University, located in West Lafayette, Indiana, U.S., is the flagship university of the six-campus Purdue University system. Purdue was founded on May 6, 1869, as a land-grant university when the Indiana General Assembly, taking advantage of the Morrill Act, accepted a donation of land and...
. One of his most important contributions "An Annotated Catalogue of Vascular Plants of Pakistan and Kashmir (1972)" serves as the basis of writing the Flora of Pakistan edited by E. Nasir and S.I. Ali (1970-1988), S. I. Ali and Y. J. Nasir (1989-1991) and S. I. Ali and M. Qaiser (1992-).
Dr. Stewart again came to Pakistan in 1990 to attend and make a presentation at the International symposium on Plant life of South Asia. The symposium was organized at the Department of Botany, University of Karachi, to commemorate the Centenary of Dr. Stewart. The participation of Dr. Stewart at the symposium is indicative of his interest of plant sciences and specially his love for Pakistan.
In 1982, at the age of 91, Dr. Stewart wrote a sort of memoir entitled, "Flora of Pakistan: History and Exploration of Plants in Pakistan and Adjoining Areas," in which he wrote: "As a fresh graduate of Columbia University in New York City," he wrote (at the age of 91), "I began to lecture in Botany and Zoology in a tiny Presbyterian Mission college in Rawalpindi with only 86 students. I had a three-year appointment and not expecting to be in India again, I wondered what would be the most interesting way to spend the two summers I expected to have in the East, on a slender budget (my salary was $600 a year with a room in a dormitory). In 1911, with four young men (two Americans, a Bengali and a Scot) who wanted an adventurous summer vacation, we decided that a good way to utilize the summer of 1912 would be to hike in Kashmir and Western Tibet (Ladak). Two of us worked in Gordon College, Rawalpindi, at the beginning of the cart road to Kashmir constructed in 1890 with a good deal of cost and difficulty. It crossed the first Himalayan Range at Jhicca Gali near Murree (2100 m), descended to the Jhelum River at Kohala and then followed the river to Srinagar, a distance of 196 miles. We had nearly three months of vacation and we left Rawalpindi at the beginning of July on our push-bikes. It was still in the horse a buggy age, just before the Model-T Fords and the buses began to carry visitors to Kashmir. Our cook and baggage traveled in a one-horse, springless vehicle called an ekka. I was the only botanist in the party. The other were interested in taking pictures and seeing new country. We spent the summer in Kashmir and Ladak and I enjoyed the trip so much that I helped organize an even longer expedition for the summer of 1913. We again rode bicycles to the Kashmir Valley and again hiked to Leh, the capital of Ladak. Instead of returning to Kashmir we turned east from Leh, crossed the Rupshu plains and entered Lahul by the Baralacha Pass; left Lahul by the Rotang La, visited Kulu and then walked further east to Simla and returned home from there by train."
Personal life
Ralph Stewart married Isabelle Caroline Darrow (d. 1953) in 1916; they had two daughters Jean Macmillan Stewart Andrews (1919-1970), born at Sialkot, and Ellen Reid Stewart Daniels (1921-1998), born at Jhelum, and 6 grandchildren and 6 great grandchildren. In 1954 he married Winifred Hladia Porter (1896-1984). He died in 1993 in Duarte, CaliforniaDuarte, California
Duarte is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 21,321, down from 21,486 at the 2000 census....
.
See also
- Columbia UniversityColumbia UniversityColumbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
- Gordon College
- National Herbarium IslamabadNational Herbarium IslamabadNational Herbarium, established in 1975, is the currently the largest herbarium in Pakistan, located in Islamabad. Dr Ralph Randles Stewart's collection was its initial beginning. At present it has a collection of over 100,000 plants...