Arthur William Hill (botanist)
Encyclopedia
Sir Arthur William Hill FLS
FRS
(11 October 1875 Watford
- 3 November 1941), was Director of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
and a noted botanist and taxonomist.
The only son of Daniel Hill, he attended Marlborough College
where his interest in natural history was encouraged by the classical master and entomologist, Edward Meyrick
. Hill went on to King's College, Cambridge
, where he came under the influence of Marshall Ward and Walter Gardiner
, acquiring an MA
and DSc
.
His numerous field trips started with the expedition of the English geographer, William Bisiker FRGS, to Iceland
in 1900. This was followed by exploration of the Andes
in Bolivia
and Peru
in 1903, sparking an interest in cushion plant
s which was to last throughout his life, and the Caribbean
in 1911.
In 1907 he joined Kew as Assistant Director under Sir David Prain
, and started contributing to the floras of Africa and India. In 1922 he succeeded Prain as Director. With grants from the Empire Marketing Board, Hill was able to send botanists all over the world, himself visiting Australia, New Zealand, Malaya, Rhodesia
, East Africa, India, Cyrenaica
and the West Indies. His interests were not confined to taxonomy, but extended to economic botany
, of which he was an enthusiastic proponent, and all the other activities of Kew. He managed a large number of changes in the Gardens, despite having to operate in the post-war austerity climate. Some of his greatest successes were in building, renovating, and extending glasshouses, being responsible for the new Rhododendron House in 1925-26, an improved Economic House in 1930 and the South African Succulent House in 1936.
He was elected an Honorary Member of the Royal Society of New Zealand during his 1928 visit, returning to London to lecture the Linnaean Society in 1929 on natural hybrids in New Zealand. He published a joint paper with Brian Laurence Burtt
in 1935 on the cushion plant genera Gaultheria
and Pernettya (now include in Gaultheria) from alpine habitats in Asia, North and South America, and Australasia.
Hill never married and died on 3 November 1941 in a riding accident.
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...
FRS
Royal Society
The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, known simply as the Royal Society, is a learned society for science, and is possibly the oldest such society in existence. Founded in November 1660, it was granted a Royal Charter by King Charles II as the "Royal Society of London"...
(11 October 1875 Watford
Watford
Watford is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, situated northwest of central London and within the bounds of the M25 motorway. The borough is separated from Greater London to the south by the urbanised parish of Watford Rural in the Three Rivers District.Watford was created as an urban...
- 3 November 1941), was 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...
and a noted botanist and taxonomist.
The only son of Daniel Hill, he attended Marlborough College
Marlborough College
Marlborough College is a British co-educational independent school for day and boarding pupils, located in Marlborough, Wiltshire.Founded in 1843 for the education of the sons of Church of England clergy, the school now accepts both boys and girls of all beliefs. Currently there are just over 800...
where his interest in natural history was encouraged by the classical master and entomologist, Edward Meyrick
Edward Meyrick
Edward Meyrick FRS was an English schoolmaster and amateur entomologist. He was an expert on microlepidoptera and some consider him one of the founders of modern Microlepidoptera systematics....
. Hill went on to King's College, Cambridge
King's College, Cambridge
King's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. The college's full name is "The King's College of our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge", but it is usually referred to simply as "King's" within the University....
, where he came under the influence of Marshall Ward and Walter Gardiner
Walter Gardiner
Walter Gardiner, FLS, FRS was a British botanist. He was educated at Clare College, Cambridge, and was a Fellow there and Lecturer in Botany at the University. He was a Fellow of the Linnean Society of London, and was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1890...
, acquiring an MA
Master of Arts (postgraduate)
A Master of Arts from the Latin Magister Artium, is a type of Master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The M.A. is usually contrasted with the M.S. or M.Sc. degrees...
and DSc
DSC
-in academia:* D.Sc., Doctor of Science* Doctor of Surgical Chiropody, superseded in the 1960s by Doctor of Podiatric Medicine* Dalton State College, Georgia* Daytona State College, Florida* Deep Springs College, California* Dixie State College of Utah...
.
His numerous field trips started with the expedition of the English geographer, William Bisiker FRGS, to Iceland
Iceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
in 1900. This was followed by exploration of the Andes
Andes
The Andes is the world's longest continental mountain range. It is a continual range of highlands along the western coast of South America. This range is about long, about to wide , and of an average height of about .Along its length, the Andes is split into several ranges, which are separated...
in Bolivia
Bolivia
Bolivia officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is the poorest country in South America...
and Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
in 1903, sparking an interest in cushion plant
Cushion plant
A cushion plant is a compact, low growing, mat forming plant that is found in alpine, subalpine, arctic, or subarctic environments around the world...
s which was to last throughout his life, and the Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
in 1911.
In 1907 he joined Kew as Assistant Director under Sir David Prain
David Prain
Sir David Prain FRS was a Scottish botanist.-Biography:Prain was born to a saddler in Fettercairn, Kincardineshire, Scotland and studied at the local Parish Schhool and the University of Aberdeen. He taught for two years at Ramsgate College and then returned to Scotland to enter the University of...
, and started contributing to the floras of Africa and India. In 1922 he succeeded Prain as Director. With grants from the Empire Marketing Board, Hill was able to send botanists all over the world, himself visiting Australia, New Zealand, Malaya, Rhodesia
Rhodesia
Rhodesia , officially the Republic of Rhodesia from 1970, was an unrecognised state located in southern Africa that existed between 1965 and 1979 following its Unilateral Declaration of Independence from the United Kingdom on 11 November 1965...
, East Africa, India, Cyrenaica
Cyrenaica
Cyrenaica is the eastern coastal region of Libya.Also known as Pentapolis in antiquity, it was part of the Creta et Cyrenaica province during the Roman period, later divided in Libia Pentapolis and Libia Sicca...
and the West Indies. His interests were not confined to taxonomy, but extended to economic botany
Economic Botany
Economic Botany is an academic journal that deals with the commercial uses of plants, or economic botany. It covers fields such as ethnopharmacology as well as potential new commercial crops....
, of which he was an enthusiastic proponent, and all the other activities of Kew. He managed a large number of changes in the Gardens, despite having to operate in the post-war austerity climate. Some of his greatest successes were in building, renovating, and extending glasshouses, being responsible for the new Rhododendron House in 1925-26, an improved Economic House in 1930 and the South African Succulent House in 1936.
He was elected an Honorary Member of the Royal Society of New Zealand during his 1928 visit, returning to London to lecture the Linnaean Society in 1929 on natural hybrids in New Zealand. He published a joint paper with Brian Laurence Burtt
Brian Laurence Burtt
Brian Laurence Burtt , was an English botanist and taxonomist who is noted for his contributions to the family Gesneriaceae...
in 1935 on the cushion plant genera Gaultheria
Gaultheria
Gaultheria is a genus of about 170-180 species of shrubs in the family Ericaceae. The name memorializes Jean François Gauthier of Quebec, a mis-spelt honour bestowed by the Scandinavian Pehr Kalm in 1748. These plants are native to Asia, North and South America, and Australasia...
and Pernettya (now include in Gaultheria) from alpine habitats in Asia, North and South America, and Australasia.
Hill never married and died on 3 November 1941 in a riding accident.
Works
- William Bisiker, Arthur William Hill - Across Iceland: With Illustrations and Maps and an Appendix By A.W. Hill on the Plants (Edward Arnold, London, 1902)
- The Distribution and Character of Connecting Threads in the Tissues of Pinus sylvestris and other Allied Species (Phil Trans, 1901)
- The Histology of the Sieve-Tubes of Pinus (Ann Bot, 1901)
- The Histology of the Endosperm during Germination in Tamus communis and Galium tricorne (with W Gardiner) (Proc Camb Phil Soc, 1902)
- The Histology of the Sieve-Tubes of Angiosperms (Ann Bot, 1908)
- On the Structure and Affinities of a Lepidodendroid Stem (with A C Seward) (Trans Roy Soc Edin, 1900)
- The Morphology and Seedling Structure of the Geophilous Species of PeperomiaPeperomiaPeperomia is one of the 2 large genera of the Piperaceae family, with more than 1000 recorded species. Most of them are compact, small perennial epiphytes growing on rotten wood. More than 1500 species have been recorded, occurring in all tropical and subtropical regions of the world, though...
, together with some views on the Origin of Monocotyledons (Ann Bot, 1906) - Floral Mechanism of the Genus Sebaea (ibid, 1913)
- Studies in Seed Germination - the Genus Marsh (ibid, 1916)
- The History of PrimulaPrimulaPrimula is a genus of 400–500 species of low-growing herbs in the family Primulaceae. They include primrose, auricula, cowslip and oxlip. Many species are grown for their ornamental flowers...
obconica under Cultivation (Journ of Genetics, 1912) - Notes on a Journey in Bolivia and Peru around Lake TiticacaLake TiticacaLake Titicaca is a lake located on the border of Peru and Bolivia. It sits 3,811 m above sea level, making it the highest commercially navigable lake in the world...
(Scottish Geol Journ, 1905) - South America in its relation to Horticulture (Journ Roy Hort Soc, 1911)
- A Visit to the West Indies (Kew Bulletin, 1912)
- The Acaulescent Species of Malvastrum (Journ Linn Soc, 1909)
- A Revision of the Geophilous Species of PeperomiaPeperomiaPeperomia is one of the 2 large genera of the Piperaceae family, with more than 1000 recorded species. Most of them are compact, small perennial epiphytes growing on rotten wood. More than 1500 species have been recorded, occurring in all tropical and subtropical regions of the world, though...
(Ann Bot, 1907) - GentianaceaeGentianaceaeGentianaceae are a family of flowering plants of 87 genera and over 1500 species. Flowers are actinomorphic and bisexual with fused sepals and petals. The stamens are attached to the inside of the petals and alternate with the corolla lobes. There is a glandular disk at the base of the gynoecium,...
(Flora Capensis, 1909) - SantalaceaeSantalaceaeSantalaceae is a widely distributed family of flowering plants which, like other members of Santalales, are partially parasitic on other plants...
(ibid, 1915) - The Genus ThesiumThesiumThesium is a genus of plants in the family Santalaceae. It contains about 325 species distributed on all Old World continents, but is most diverse in South Africa....
in South Africa (Kew Bull 1915) - The History and Functions of Botanic Gardens (Ann Missouri Bot Gardens, 1915)
Honours, achievements and awards
- Director of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (1922)
- Dean of King's College, Cambridge, and University Lecturer in Botany
- Fellow of the Linnaean Society (1908)
- Fellow of the Royal Society