![Welwitschia-mirabilis-female](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/96/Welwitschia-mirabilis-female.jpg)
Henry Harold Welch Pearson (28 January 1870 – 3 November 1916) was a British-born South African botanist, chiefly remembered for founding
Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden
Kirstenbosch is an important botanical garden nestled at the eastern foot of Table Mountain in Cape Town. The garden is one of 10 National Botanical Gardens covering five of South Africa's six different biomes and administered by the South A ...
in 1913.
Biography
Pearson started his career as a chemist's assistant, but changed his interests after attending a lecture on plants by
Albert Seward
Sir Albert Charles Seward FRS (9 October 1863 – 11 April 1941) was a British botanist and geologist.
Life
Seward was born in Lancaster. His first education was at Lancaster Grammar School and he then went on to St John's College, Cambrid ...
at
Eastbourne
Eastbourne () is a town and seaside resort in East Sussex, on the south coast of England, east of Brighton and south of London. Eastbourne is immediately east of Beachy Head, the highest chalk sea cliff in Great Britain and part of the la ...
in 1892. He taught for a while and was awarded a scholarship to
Christ's College, Cambridge
Christ's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college includes the Master, the Fellows of the College, and about 450 undergraduate and 170 graduate students. The college was founded by William Byngham in 1437 as ...
in 1896, obtaining a first class in the Natural Science
Tripos
At the University of Cambridge, a Tripos (, plural 'Triposes') is any of the examinations that qualify an undergraduate for a bachelor's degree or the courses taken by a student to prepare for these. For example, an undergraduate studying mathe ...
.
Pearson published two papers in 1898, dealing with ''
Bowenia spectabilis
''Bowenia spectabilis'' is a species of cycad in the family Stangeriaceae. It is endemic to Queensland, Australia. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests.
Range
''Bowenia spectabilis'' is found in northeastern Quee ...
'', a member of the
Stangeriaceae
Stangeriaceae is the smallest family of the cycads, including only two extant genera, '' Stangeria'' and ''Bowenia'', which both have an underground stem.
Taxonomy
Although the family was first published by Schimper and Schenk as Stangerieae, t ...
from Australia. In the same year he explored the patanas (grassy uplands) in
Ceylon
Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
for six months, having been awarded a Worts Travelling Scholars Fund. For this ecological dissertation he received the Walsingham Medal from Cambridge, the marine biologist
Ernest William MacBride having been the first recipient in 1893. At Cambridge he was appointed Assistant Curator of the herbarium under
Harry Marshall Ward
Harry Marshall Ward (21 March 1854 – 26 August 1906), FRS, , was a British botanist, mycologist, and plant pathologist.
Born in Hereford, the eldest child of Francis and Mary Marshall Ward, Harry Ward was educated at Lincoln Cathedral s ...
. Here
taxonomy
Taxonomy is the practice and science of categorization or classification.
A taxonomy (or taxonomical classification) is a scheme of classification, especially a hierarchical classification, in which things are organized into groups or types. ...
engaged his interest and he received a Frank Smart Studentship. The following year found him at the
Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew where he was Assistant for India. His interest in
Verbenaceae
The Verbenaceae ( ), the verbena family or vervain family, is a family of mainly tropical flowering plants. It contains trees, shrubs, and herbs notable for heads, spikes, or clusters of small flowers, many of which have an aromatic smell.
The ...
led to his description of the family for
Harvey
Harvey, Harveys or Harvey's may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* ''Harvey'' (play), a 1944 play by Mary Chase about a man befriended by an invisible anthropomorphic rabbit
* Harvey Awards ("Harveys"), one of the most important awards ...
&
Sonder's ''Flora Capensis''.
In 1903 Pearson became the first
Harry Bolus
Harry Bolus (28 April 1834 – 25 May 1911) was a South African botanist, botanical artist, businessman and philanthropist. He advanced botany in South Africa by establishing bursaries, founding the Bolus Herbarium and bequeathing his library and ...
Professor of Botany at the
South African College
The South African College was an educational institution in Cape Town, South Africa, which developed into the University of Cape Town (UCT) and the South African College Schools (SACS).
History
The process that would lead to the formation of t ...
. In 1904 he set off for
South West Africa on the first of several expeditions with the object of studying the
monotypic
In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispec ...
''
Welwitschia
''Welwitschia'' is a monotypic gymnosperm genus, comprising solely the distinctive ''Welwitschia mirabilis'', endemic to the Namib desert within Namibia and Angola. ''Welwitschia'' is the only living genus of the family Welwitschiaceae and orde ...
''. This expedition was cut short by the first of the so-called
Herero Wars. In 1907 he made a second attempt in the company of
E. E. Galpin who had previously accompanied him on
cycad
Cycads are seed plants that typically have a stout and woody (ligneous) trunk (botany), trunk with a crown (botany), crown of large, hard, stiff, evergreen and (usually) pinnate leaves. The species are dioecious, that is, individual plants o ...
-hunting trips to the
Eastern Cape
The Eastern Cape is one of the provinces of South Africa. Its capital is Bhisho, but its two largest cities are East London and Gqeberha.
The second largest province in the country (at 168,966 km2) after Northern Cape, it was formed in ...
. His papers on the ecology, morphology and embryology of ''Welwitschia'', led to a
Cantabrigian
__NOTOC__
''Cantabrigian'' (often shortened to ''Cantab'') is an adjective that is used in two meanings: 1) to refer to what is of or pertaining to Cambridge University, located in Cambridge, United Kingdom;http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictiona ...
DSc in 1907, which in turn led to a study of the closely related ''
Gnetum
''Gnetum'' is a genus of gymnosperms, the sole genus in the family Gnetaceae within the Gnetophyta. They are tropical evergreen trees, shrubs and lianas. Unlike other gymnosperms, they possess vessel elements in the xylem. Some species have been ...
'', to which end he went on a collecting expedition to
Angola
, national_anthem = " Angola Avante"()
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, capital = Luanda
, religion =
, religion_year = 2020
, religion_ref =
, coordina ...
in 1909. During this time he wrote an account of the
Thymelaeaceae
The Thymelaeaceae are a cosmopolitan family of flowering plants composed of 50 genera (listed below) and 898 species.Zachary S. Rogers (2009 onwards)A World Checklist of Thymelaeaceae (version 1) Missouri Botanical Garden Website, St. Louis. It ...
for the ''Flora of Tropical Africa''.
Living in Cape Town and keenly aware of the floristic wealth of the Cape Peninsula, Pearson had become an ardent campaigner for the establishing of a botanical garden. He made an impassioned appeal to the authorities and the public at his 1910 presidential address to the South African Association for the Advancement of Science. As a consequence the Botanical Society of South Africa was formed in 1912 and a deputation was despatched to make representations to the Prime Minister,
Louis Botha
Louis Botha (; 27 September 1862 – 27 August 1919) was a South African politician who was the first prime minister of the Union of South Africa – the forerunner of the modern South African state. A Boer war hero during the Second Boer War, ...
. The campaign found a powerful supporter in Sir
Lionel Phillips, who introduced the necessary bill in the House of Assembly in 1913. An area which
Cecil Rhodes
Cecil John Rhodes (5 July 1853 – 26 March 1902) was a British mining magnate and politician in southern Africa who served as Prime Minister of the Cape Colony from 1890 to 1896.
An ardent believer in British imperialism, Rhodes and his Br ...
had bequeathed to the public, was set aside and
Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden
Kirstenbosch is an important botanical garden nestled at the eastern foot of Table Mountain in Cape Town. The garden is one of 10 National Botanical Gardens covering five of South Africa's six different biomes and administered by the South A ...
came into being. Pearson was appointed as the first director, with J. W. Matthews as curator.
On Pearson's death he was buried in Kirstenbosch, his epitaph reading ''"If ye seek his monument, look around"''. He is commemorated in the genus ''
Pearsonia
''Pearsonia'' is a genus of 12 species of plants belonging to the family Fabaceae and occurring in Africa south of the equator with 1 species found on Madagascar. The species are usually herbs or shrublets with woody rootstocks. Leaves are usual ...
'' and several specific epithets. The 1914 volume 140 of
Curtis's Botanical Magazine is dedicated to his memory. The Harold Pearson Chair of Botany at the
University of Cape Town
The University of Cape Town (UCT) ( af, Universiteit van Kaapstad, xh, Yunibesithi ya yaseKapa) is a public research university in Cape Town, South Africa. Established in 1829 as the South African College, it was granted full university statu ...
was founded in his honour, and the HW Pearson Building (home of the Botany Department) is named after him. This botanist is denoted by the
author abbreviation H.Pearson when
citing a
botanical name
A botanical name is a formal scientific name conforming to the '' International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants'' (ICN) and, if it concerns a plant cultigen, the additional cultivar or Group epithets must conform to the ''Intern ...
.
Honours, degrees and achievements
Bachelor of Arts
Cantab.
, mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts.
Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge.
, established =
, other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...
1896,
DSc DSC may refer to:
Academia
* Doctor of Science (D.Sc.)
* District Selection Committee, an entrance exam in India
* Doctor of Surgical Chiropody, superseded in the 1960s by Doctor of Podiatric Medicine
Educational institutions
* Dalton State Col ...
1907,
Fellow of the Royal Society
Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the judges of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural science, natural knowledge, incl ...
1916,
Fellow of the Linnean Society of London
A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context.
In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements.
Within the context of higher education ...
1901, Assistant Curator
Cambridge
Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...
Herbarium 1898–99,
Kew
Kew () is a district in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. Its population at the 2011 census was 11,436. Kew is the location of the Royal Botanic Gardens ("Kew Gardens"), now a World Heritage Site, which includes Kew Palace. Kew is a ...
Herbarium 1899, Professor of Botany at
South African College
The South African College was an educational institution in Cape Town, South Africa, which developed into the University of Cape Town (UCT) and the South African College Schools (SACS).
History
The process that would lead to the formation of t ...
in Cape Town 1903, Director of Cape Botanical Gardens 1913.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pearson, Henry Harold Welch
Botanists with author abbreviations
20th-century South African botanists
19th-century British botanists
Academic staff of the University of Cape Town
Fellows of the Royal Society
Fellows of the Linnean Society of London
1870 births
1916 deaths
People from Long Sutton, Lincolnshire
Alumni of Christ's College, Cambridge