George Francis Scott-Elliot FRGS FLS FRSE (1862–1934) was a botanist and academic author of Franco-Scots descent. He was a personal friend of

Patrick Geddes Sir Patrick Geddes (2 October 1854 – 17 April 1932) was a British biologist, sociologist, Comtean positivist, geographer, philanthropist and pioneering town planner. He is known for his innovative thinking in the fields of urban planning ...

Biography

Scott-Elliot was born in

Calcutta Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

of Franco-Scots parentage. His father, James Scott Elliot (d.1880) was a merchant in Calcutta, coming from the Scottish Borders. He went to

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter by Henry III of England, Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the world' ...

in 1879 and graduated BA (Maths tripos). He then attended

Edinburgh University The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted ...

gaining a BSc in Botany. He had a natural love of travel. His first major trip was 1888-89 when he explored

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

Mauritius Mauritius ( ; french: Maurice, link=no ; mfe, label= Mauritian Creole, Moris ), officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island nation in the Indian Ocean about off the southeast coast of the African continent, east of Madagascar. It ...

and

Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...

. In June 1890 he gave a lecture to the Linnean Society on the flora of Madagascar. He then did further studies in

Libya Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Suda ...

and

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...

before being commissioned by the Franco-Britiah Delineation Committee to define the boundaries of

Sierra Leonne Sierra Leone,)]. officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surrounds the northern half of the nation. Covering a total area of , Sierra ...

. From 1896 to 1903, he lectured in Botany at the Glasgow and West of Scotland Technical College. In 1903, he undertook a tour of South America. From 1902 to 1909 he was President of the Dumfries and Galloway Natural History and Antiquarian Society. At this period he lived at Drumwhill near New Galloway in

Kirkcudbrightshire Kirkcudbrightshire ( ), or the County of Kirkcudbright or the Stewartry of Kirkcudbright is one of the historic counties of Scotland, covering an area in the south-west of the country. Until 1975, Kirkcudbrightshire was an administrative count ...

. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh in 1913. His proposers were

Robert Kidston Dr Robert Kidston, Fellow of the Royal Society, FRS FRSE LLD (29 June 1852 – 13 July 1924) was a Scottish botanist and palaeobotanist. Life He was born in Bishopton House in Renfrewshire on 29 June 1852 the youngest of twelve children of Robe ...

John Horne John Horne PRSE FRS FRSE FEGS LLD (1 January 1848 – 30 May 1928) was a Scottish geologist. He served as President of the Royal Society of Edinburgh from 1915 to 1919. Life Horne was born on 1 January 1848, in Campsie, Stirlingshire, the ...

, John Aitken and

James Geikie James Murdoch Geikie PRSE FRS LLD (23 August 1839 – 1 March 1915) was a Scottish geologist. He was professor of geology at Edinburgh University from 1882 to 1914. Life Education He was born in Edinburgh, the son of James Stuart Geikie a ...

. He resigned in 1927. Although "over-age" he volunteered almost immediately at the onset of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and joined the

King's Own Scottish Borderers The King's Own Scottish Borderers (KOSBs) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Scottish Division. On 28 March 2006 the regiment was amalgamated with the Royal Scots, the Royal Highland Fusiliers (Princess Margaret's O ...

and saw active duty under fire in

as a Captain and was awarded the

Order of the Nile The Order of the Nile (''Kiladat El Nil'') was established in 1915 and was one of the Kingdom of Egypt's principal orders until the monarchy was abolished in 1953. It was then reconstituted as the Republic of Egypt's highest state honor. Sultana ...

. In 1917, whilst returning home on leave, his ship was torpedoed off the coast of

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

. Ensuing ill-health from this near-drowning left him unable to rejoin his regiment on active duty, and instead he became a commanding officer in the Home Defence Corps. He later retired with his wife to

Wadhurst Wadhurst is a market town in East Sussex, England. It is the centre of the civil parish of Wadhurst, which also includes the hamlets of Cousley Wood and Tidebrook. Wadhurst is twinned with Aubers in France. Situation Wadhurst is situated on ...

in Sussex to be near his brother, Lt Col William Scott Elliot DSO (1873-1943). In his final years, he returned to Scotland and died in the Moat Brae Nursing Home in Dumfries on 20 June 1934.

Legacy

George Scott-Elliot is commemorated in the scientific name of a species of African chameleon, '' Trioceros ellioti'' and the plant genus ''

Scottellia ''Scottellia'' is a genus of shrubs and trees in the family Achariaceae. Members of this genus are native to the African tropics The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the Equator. They are defined in latitude by the Tropic of ...

'' Oliv. (1893) (Achariaceae).

Botanical Referencing

Publications

*''The Best route to Uganda'' (1895) *''Flora of Dumfrieshire'' (1896) *''A First Course in Practical Botany'' (1906) *''Chile: Its History and Development'' (1913) *''Fauna, Flora and Geology of the Clyde Area'' (1901) *''Prehistoric Man and His Story'' (1915) *''The Romance of Plant Life'' (1907) *''The Romance of Early British Life'' (1909) *'' A Naturalist in Africa'' (date unknown) *''The Romance of Savage Life'' (date unknown)

Family

He married Annie Johnston-Stewart daughter of Robert Hathorn Johnston-Stewart of Glasserton and Physgill, in April 1896 near

Whithorn Whithorn ( �ʍɪthorn 'HWIT-horn'; ''Taigh Mhàrtainn'' in Gaelic), is a royal burgh in the historic county of Wigtownshire in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, about south of Wigtown. The town was the location of the first recorded Christia ...

in Wigtownshire. They lived originally at Wilton Mansions in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

. They later moved to

Kilmalcolm Kilmacolm () is a village and civil parish in the Inverclyde council area, and the historic county of Renfrewshire in the west central Lowlands of Scotland. It lies on the northern slope of the Gryffe Valley, southeast of Greenock and around ...

and finally to

Kilbarchan Kilbarchan ( gd, Cill Bhearchain) is a village and civil parish in central Renfrewshire, in the west central Lowlands of Scotland. The village's name means "cell (chapel) of St. Barchan". It is known for its former weaving industry. History ...

. His nephew was Major-General James Scott-Elliot, who also joined the

and served with distinction during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Scott-Elliot, George Francis Scottish botanists 1862 births 1934 deaths Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Fellows of the Royal Geographical Society Alumni of the University of Edinburgh King's Own Scottish Borderers officers British Army personnel of World War I British people in colonial India