William Turner Thiselton-Dyer
Encyclopedia
Sir William Turner Thiselton-Dyer KCMG FRS FLS
(28 July 1843 – 23 December 1928) was a leading British
botanist, and the third director of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
.
, London
. He was educated at King's College School
where he was first mathematical scholar, and later proceeded to the medical department of King's College London
, where he remained until 1863 when he proceeded to Christ Church, Oxford
. Initially studying mathematics
at Christ Church, Oxford
, he graduated in natural science
in 1867. He became Professor of Natural History at the Royal Agricultural College
in Cirencester
and then Professor of Botany at the Royal College of Science for Ireland
in Dublin. In 1872, he became professor at the Royal Horticultural Society
in London
, being recommended by Joseph Dalton Hooker
.
Then in 1875, Thiselton-Dyer was appointed Assistant Director at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, under Hooker, where he was to stay for thirty years. Thiselton-Dyer spent considerable time working for the benefit of the British colonies. He introduced rubber
plantations to Sri Lanka
and Malaya
, and introduced cacao from Trinidad
to plantations in Sri Lanka. In 1877, he was given charge of an international research laboratory, established at Kew with private funding, which became known as one of the best laboratories in Europe
. Thiselton-Dyer also designed a new rock garden, after a bequest to Kew in 1881 of a large collection of Alpine plants.
Thiselton-Dyer was elected FRS in 1880. His proposers included Charles Darwin
and George Bentham
, but not Joseph Dalton Hooker, whose daughter Dyer had already married. From 1885 to 1905, after the retirement of Hooker, he was director of the Royal Botanic Gardens. Thiselton-Dyer proved to be an authoritarian director, with a disdainful attitude towards women. He made the mistake of snubbing Beatrix Potter
, who had hoped to be a botanical artist in her younger days. Somewhat neglected by her parents, she had an uncle who was a chemist, and he encouraged her. She became interested in algae, fungi and lichen, and came to Kew with her botanical drawings. Thiselton-Dyer refused even to look at the drawings, and in disappointment she turned away from science. It would be 1967 before her watercolours were used to illustrate a field guide to the fungi and lichens of the British Isles.
Thiselton-Dyer was a fellow of the University of London
from 1887 to 1890, Royal Commissioner to the Paris International Exhibition
(1900) and to the St. Louis Exposition
(1904), botanical adviser to the Secretary of State for the Colonies (1902–1906), and became a member of the court of the University of Bristol
in 1909. His principal works are an English edition of Sachs Text-Book of Botany (1875), editions of the Flora Capensis and of the Flora of Tropical Africa, and Index Kewensis
(1905).
With his former school-friend Henry Trimen
he published The Flora of Middlesex (1869).
He married Harriet Anne Hooker
, daughter of Joseph Dalton Hooker, in 1877; they had one son and one daughter. She lived at Kew from birth until old age, surviving her husband and dying in 1946 aged 91, in her house near Bere Alston
. Thiselton-Dyer was appointed KCMG in 1899, and awarded the Clarke Medal
by the Royal Society of New South Wales
in 1892. He died in Whitcombe, a village near Dorchester, Dorset.
Linnean Society of London
The Linnean Society of London is the world's premier society for the study and dissemination of taxonomy and natural history. It publishes a zoological journal, as well as botanical and biological journals...
(28 July 1843 – 23 December 1928) was a leading British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
botanist, and the third director of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, usually referred to as Kew Gardens, is 121 hectares of gardens and botanical glasshouses between Richmond and Kew in southwest London, England. "The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew" and the brand name "Kew" are also used as umbrella terms for the institution that runs...
.
Life and career
Thiselton-Dyer was born in WestminsterWestminster
Westminster is an area of central London, within the City of Westminster, England. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, southwest of the City of London and southwest of Charing Cross...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. He was educated at King's College School
King's College School
King's College School, commonly referred to as KCS, King's, or KCS Wimbledon, is an independent school for day pupils in Wimbledon in south-west London. The school was founded as the junior department of King's College London and occupied part of its premises in Strand, before relocating to...
where he was first mathematical scholar, and later proceeded to the medical department of King's College London
King's College London
King's College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and a constituent college of the federal University of London. King's has a claim to being the third oldest university in England, having been founded by King George IV and the Duke of Wellington in 1829, and...
, where he remained until 1863 when he proceeded to Christ Church, Oxford
Christ Church, Oxford
Christ Church or house of Christ, and thus sometimes known as The House), is one of the largest constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England...
. Initially studying mathematics
Mathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
at Christ Church, Oxford
Christ Church, Oxford
Christ Church or house of Christ, and thus sometimes known as The House), is one of the largest constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England...
, he graduated in natural science
Natural science
The natural sciences are branches of science that seek to elucidate the rules that govern the natural world by using empirical and scientific methods...
in 1867. He became Professor of Natural History at the Royal Agricultural College
Royal Agricultural College
The Royal Agricultural College is a higher education institution located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire, UK. Established in 1845, it was the first agricultural college in the English speaking world...
in Cirencester
Cirencester
Cirencester is a market town in east Gloucestershire, England, 93 miles west northwest of London. Cirencester lies on the River Churn, a tributary of the River Thames, and is the largest town in the Cotswold District. It is the home of the Royal Agricultural College, the oldest agricultural...
and then Professor of Botany at the Royal College of Science for Ireland
Royal College of Science for Ireland
The Royal College of Science for Ireland was created as a result of a decision of HM Treasury in 1865 to merge a number of science-oriented education bodies including the Museum of Irish Industry and Government School of Science applied to Mining and the Arts. It was originally based at 51 St...
in Dublin. In 1872, he became professor at the Royal Horticultural Society
Royal Horticultural Society
The Royal Horticultural Society was founded in 1804 in London, England as the Horticultural Society of London, and gained its present name in a Royal Charter granted in 1861 by Prince Albert...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, being recommended by 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...
.
Then in 1875, Thiselton-Dyer was appointed Assistant Director at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, under Hooker, where he was to stay for thirty years. Thiselton-Dyer spent considerable time working for the benefit of the British colonies. He introduced rubber
Rubber
Natural rubber, also called India rubber or caoutchouc, is an elastomer that was originally derived from latex, a milky colloid produced by some plants. The plants would be ‘tapped’, that is, an incision made into the bark of the tree and the sticky, milk colored latex sap collected and refined...
plantations to Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
and Malaya
British Malaya
British Malaya loosely described a set of states on the Malay Peninsula and the Island of Singapore that were brought under British control between the 18th and the 20th centuries...
, and introduced cacao from Trinidad
Trinidad
Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands and numerous landforms which make up the island nation of Trinidad and Tobago. It is the southernmost island in the Caribbean and lies just off the northeastern coast of Venezuela. With an area of it is also the fifth largest in...
to plantations in Sri Lanka. In 1877, he was given charge of an international research laboratory, established at Kew with private funding, which became known as one of the best laboratories in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
. Thiselton-Dyer also designed a new rock garden, after a bequest to Kew in 1881 of a large collection of Alpine plants.
Thiselton-Dyer was elected FRS in 1880. His proposers included Charles Darwin
Charles Darwin
Charles Robert Darwin FRS was an English naturalist. He established that all species of life have descended over time from common ancestry, and proposed the scientific theory that this branching pattern of evolution resulted from a process that he called natural selection.He published his theory...
and George Bentham
George Bentham
George Bentham CMG FRS was an English botanist, characterized by Duane Isely as "the premier systematic botanist of the nineteenth century".- Formative years :...
, but not Joseph Dalton Hooker, whose daughter Dyer had already married. From 1885 to 1905, after the retirement of Hooker, he was director of the Royal Botanic Gardens. Thiselton-Dyer proved to be an authoritarian director, with a disdainful attitude towards women. He made the mistake of snubbing Beatrix Potter
Beatrix Potter
Helen Beatrix Potter was an English author, illustrator, natural scientist and conservationist best known for her imaginative children’s books featuring animals such as those in The Tale of Peter Rabbit which celebrated the British landscape and country life.Born into a privileged Unitarian...
, who had hoped to be a botanical artist in her younger days. Somewhat neglected by her parents, she had an uncle who was a chemist, and he encouraged her. She became interested in algae, fungi and lichen, and came to Kew with her botanical drawings. Thiselton-Dyer refused even to look at the drawings, and in disappointment she turned away from science. It would be 1967 before her watercolours were used to illustrate a field guide to the fungi and lichens of the British Isles.
Thiselton-Dyer was a fellow of the University of London
University of London
-20th century:Shortly after 6 Burlington Gardens was vacated, the University went through a period of rapid expansion. Bedford College, Royal Holloway and the London School of Economics all joined in 1900, Regent's Park College, which had affiliated in 1841 became an official divinity school of the...
from 1887 to 1890, Royal Commissioner to the Paris International Exhibition
Exposition Universelle (1900)
The Exposition Universelle of 1900 was a world's fair held in Paris, France, from April 15 to November 12, 1900, to celebrate the achievements of the past century and to accelerate development into the next...
(1900) and to the St. Louis Exposition
Louisiana Purchase Exposition
The Louisiana Purchase Exposition, informally known as the Saint Louis World's Fair, was an international exposition held in St. Louis, Missouri, United States in 1904.- Background :...
(1904), botanical adviser to the Secretary of State for the Colonies (1902–1906), and became a member of the court of the University of Bristol
University of Bristol
The University of Bristol is a public research university located in Bristol, United Kingdom. One of the so-called "red brick" universities, it received its Royal Charter in 1909, although its predecessor institution, University College, Bristol, had been in existence since 1876.The University is...
in 1909. His principal works are an English edition of Sachs Text-Book of Botany (1875), editions of the Flora Capensis and of the Flora of Tropical Africa, and Index Kewensis
Index Kewensis
The Index Kewensis , maintained by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, is a publication that aims to register all botanical names for seed plants at the rank of species and genera...
(1905).
With his former school-friend Henry Trimen
Henry Trimen
Henry Trimen was a British botanist. He named several plants in the Dipterocarpaceae family.He was born in Paddington, London, England, the son of Richard and Marinne Trimen and the younger brother of entomologist Roland Trimen...
he published The Flora of Middlesex (1869).
He married Harriet Anne Hooker
Harriet Anne Hooker Thiselton-Dyer
Harriet Anne Hooker Thiselton-Dyer was a British botanical illustrator. She studied with Walter Hood Fitch. After Fitch resigned from Curtis's Botanical Magazine, she rendered almost 100 illustrations for publication during the period 1878-1880, helping to keep the magazine viable...
, daughter of Joseph Dalton Hooker, in 1877; they had one son and one daughter. She lived at Kew from birth until old age, surviving her husband and dying in 1946 aged 91, in her house near Bere Alston
Bere Alston
Bere Alston is a small village in West Devon in the county of Devon in England. It forms part of the civil parish of Bere Ferrers.-History and geography:...
. Thiselton-Dyer was appointed KCMG in 1899, and awarded the Clarke Medal
Clarke Medal
The Clarke Medal is awarded by the Royal Society of New South Wales for distinguished work in the Natural sciences.Named in honour of the Reverend William Branwhite Clarke, one of the founders of the Society...
by the Royal Society of New South Wales
Royal Society of New South Wales
The Royal Society of New South Wales is a learned society based in Sydney, Australia. It was established as the Philosophical Society of Australasia on 27 June 1821...
in 1892. He died in Whitcombe, a village near Dorchester, Dorset.