Her Majesty's Botanist
Encyclopedia
His/Her Majesty's Botanist is a member of the Royal household
in Scotland
.
The office was created in 1699, and from 1768 until 1956 it was combined with the office of Regius Keeper of the Royal Botanic Garden
, Edinburgh
, who also held the post of Regius Professor of Botany at the University of Edinburgh
. Since then the office of HM Botanist has been honorary, but conferred on a serving or retired Regius Keeper.
Great Officer of State
In the United Kingdom, the Great Officers of State are traditional Crown ministers, who either inherit their positions or are appointed to exercise certain largely ceremonial functions. Separate Great Officers exist for England and Scotland, and formerly for Ireland...
in Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
.
The office was created in 1699, and from 1768 until 1956 it was combined with the office of Regius Keeper of the Royal Botanic Garden
Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh
The Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh is a scientific centre for the study of plants, their diversity and conservation, as well as a popular tourist attraction. Originally founded in 1670 as a physic garden to grow medicinal plants, today it occupies four sites across Scotland — Edinburgh,...
, Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
, who also held the post of Regius Professor of Botany at the University of Edinburgh
University of Edinburgh
The University of Edinburgh, founded in 1583, is a public research university located in Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The university is deeply embedded in the fabric of the city, with many of the buildings in the historic Old Town belonging to the university...
. Since then the office of HM Botanist has been honorary, but conferred on a serving or retired Regius Keeper.
Office Holders
incomplete list- 1699: James SutherlandJames Sutherland (botanist)James Sutherland was the first professor of botany at the University of Edinburgh, from 1676-1705. He was intendant of the Physical Garden , and his innovative publication Hortus Medicus Edinburgensis placed Scotland at the forefront of European botany.-References:...
- 1715: Dr William ArthurWilliam Arthur (botanist)William Arthur was appointed King's Botanist at Edinburgh in 1715, through his political connections, despite having no botanical qualifications. Shortly afterwards he was deeply implicated in the First Jacobite Rising, though there is still no agreement on whether this was fair. He fled to Italy,...
- 1716: Charles AlstonCharles Alston (botanist)Charles Alston was a Scottish botanist.Alston was born in Hamilton. In 1715 he went to Leyden to study under the Dutch physician Hermann Boerhaave. On his return to Scotland he became lecturer in materia medica and botany at Edinburgh and also superintendent of the botanical gardens...
- 1761: Dr John Hope
- 1786: Daniel RutherfordDaniel RutherfordDaniel Rutherford was a Scottish physician, chemist and botanist who is most famous for the isolation of nitrogen in 1772.Rutherford was the uncle of the novelist Sir Walter Scott.-Early life:...
MD - 1820: Robert GrahamRobert Graham (botanist)Robert Graham was a Scottish physician and botanist. He was the inaugural chair of botany at the University of Edinburgh...
MD - 1845: John Hutton BalfourJohn Hutton BalfourJohn Hutton Balfour was a Scottish botanist. Balfour became a Professor of Botany, first at the University of Glasgow in 1841, moving to Edinburgh University and also becoming Regius Keeper of the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh and Her Majesty's Botanist in Scotland in 1845...
MD - 1880: Alexander DicksonAlexander Dickson (botanist)Alexander Dickson FRSE was a Scottish botanist.Born at Edinburgh, his family had previously had members in the legal and medical professions; one of the earliest of whom any special records exist having been John Dickson of Kilbucho and Hartree, a lawyer, who in 1649 was appointed a Senator of the...
MD LLD - 1888: Sir Isaac Bayley BalfourIsaac Bayley BalfourSir Isaac Bayley Balfour FRS FRSE was a Scottish botanist. He was the son of John Hutton Balfour who was also a botanist.-Biography:...
- 1922: Prof. Sir William Wright SmithWilliam Wright SmithSir William Wright Smith FRS FRSE DèsSc FLS VMH was a Scottish botanist and horticulturalist....
(d 1956) - ?
- 1967: Harold Roy Fletcher (d 1978)
- ?
- 1987: Prof. Douglas Mackay Henderson
- 2008: Prof Stephen BlackmoreStephen BlackmoreStephen John Blackmore CBE FRSE FIBiol FLS is a British botanist, Regius Keeper of the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh since 1999; previous to this he was Keeper of Botany at the Natural History Museum in London 1990-1999. He was awarded the Bicentenary Medal of the Linnean Society in 1992...
Sources
- Holders from 1703-1820 from "Exchequer Establishment List" c.1770 (E/229/10/1) in National Archives of ScotlandNational Archives of ScotlandBased in Edinburgh, the National Archives of Scotland are the national archives of Scotland. The NAS claims to have one of the most varied collection of archives in Europe...
- Royal Botanic Garden: A Brief History