Edward Morell Holmes FLS (29 January 1843 – 10 September 1930) was a British botanist, curator and lecturer in materia medica. Most of the specimens he collected are

marine algae Marine primary production is the chemical synthesis in the ocean of organic compounds from atmospheric or dissolved carbon dioxide. It principally occurs through the process of photosynthesis, which uses light as its source of energy, but it al ...

lichen A lichen ( , ) is a composite organism that arises from algae or cyanobacteria living among filaments of multiple fungi species in a mutualistic relationship.bryophyte The Bryophyta s.l. are a proposed taxonomic division containing three groups of non-vascular land plants (embryophytes): the liverworts, hornworts and mosses. Bryophyta s.s. consists of the mosses only. They are characteristically limited in ...

Early life and education

Holmes was educated at the Grammar School in

Boston, Lincolnshire Boston is a market town and inland port in the borough of the same name in the county of Lincolnshire, England. Boston is north of London, north-east of Peterborough, east of Nottingham, south-east of Lincoln, south-southeast of Hull ...

and the Grammar School in

Wimborne Minster Wimborne Minster (often referred to as Wimborne, ) is a market town in Dorset in South West England, and the name of the Church of England church in that town. It lies at the confluence of the River Stour and the River Allen, north of Poole ...

. At the age of 14 he was apprenticed to Mr. S. S. Hayward, a pharmacist in

Cheyne Walk Cheyne Walk is an historic road in Chelsea, London, England, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. It runs parallel with the River Thames. Before the construction of Chelsea Embankment reduced the width of the Thames here, it fronted ...

Chelsea, London Chelsea is an affluent area in west London, England, due south-west of Charing Cross by approximately 2.5 miles. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames and for postal purposes is part of the south-western postal area. Chelsea histori ...

. He studied pharmacy at the Pharmaceutical Society's school in Bloomsbury Square, walking from Chelsea to attend morning lectures. He passed the Minor examination to qualify as a Chemist and Druggist. He then worked for Mr T.Vicary in Plymouth, and while there collected a herbarium of British plants which won the Society's bronze medal in 1863. He passed the Society's Major examination to qualify as a Pharmaceutical Chemist in May 1864.

Career

Holmes worked in London in 1863 and 1864, first as assistant successively to Alsop & Quiller, Sloane Square, and then Mr. G. Tarde, Lamb's Conduit Street. He then returned to Plymouth, and, after a short time with his earlier employer Mr. Vicary, he started his own business at 2 Arundel Crescent. After six years, he sold the business and came to work for Wright, Seller & Layman in London, as head of their perfumery department. However, after three months he left to become Curator of the Pharmaceutical Society's Museum in November 1872. He remained in the post for 50 years until his retirement in 1922, after which he was styled emeritus curator until his death in 1930. He systematised the museum and compiled a catalogue of it which was published in 1878, and later compiled a catalogue of the Hanbury Herbarium. From 1873 to 1876 he was a lecturer on botany at

Westminster Hospital Medical School The Westminster Hospital Medical School was formally founded in 1834 by George Guthrie, an ex-military surgeon – although students had been taken on at Westminster Hospital almost from the hospital's foundation in 1719 (the traditional name a ...

. From 1887 to 1890 he was a lecturer on materia medica at the Pharmaceutical Society. He published more than 300 articles on drugs and medicinal plants.

Honours

He was a Fellow of the Linnean Society. He was awarded the Fluckiger Medal in 1897 and the Pharmaceutical Society's Hanbury Gold Medal in 1915, both in recognition of his contribution to the field. He was President of the British Pharmaceutical Conference in 1900.

Personal life

In 1882 he married Catherine "Kate" Appleford (b. 1842), who also collected British plants. In 1921 an automobile hit him, necessitating the amputation of part of one leg. In 1935 she donated his papers to the

Wellcome Library The Wellcome Library is founded on the collection formed by Sir Henry Wellcome (1853–1936), whose personal wealth allowed him to create one of the most ambitious collections of the 20th century. Henry Wellcome's interest was the history of med ...

. There were no children from the marriage.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Holmes, Edward Morell 1843 births 1930 deaths 19th-century British botanists 20th-century British botanists Botanists with author abbreviations British phycologists English curators Fellows of the Linnean Society of London