Hiram Wild (15 March 1917 - 28 April 1982) was an English botanist who worked in

Southern Rhodesia Southern Rhodesia was a landlocked self-governing British Crown colony in southern Africa, established in 1923 and consisting of British South Africa Company (BSAC) territories lying south of the Zambezi River. The region was informally kn ...

. Wild studied at

Imperial College, University of London Imperial College London (legally Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom. Its history began with Prince Albert, consort of Queen Victoria, who developed his vision for a cu ...

. In 1945, he wrote his Ph.D. thesis in which he examined the lettuce pathogen, '' Bremia lactucae''. From 1945, he worked as the government botanist in Southern Rhodesia, and soon became head of the Government Herbarium of Southern Rhodesia. In 1960, Wild started the Herbarium botanical journal 'Kirkia', named for John Kirk (1832–1922), African explorer and companion of

David Livingstone David Livingstone (; 19 March 1813 – 1 May 1873) was a Scottish physician, Congregationalist, and pioneer Christian missionary with the London Missionary Society, an explorer in Africa, and one of the most popular British heroes of t ...

. In the ensuing years, he worked as its chief editor. Wild, along with

Arthur Wallis Exell Arthur Wallis Exell OBE (21 May 1901, in Birmingham – 15 January 1993, in Cheltenham) was initially an assistant and later Deputy Keeper of Botany at the British Museum during the years 1924–1939 and 1950–1962. A noted cryptographer, tax ...

, initiated the ''

Flora Zambesiaca ''Flora Zambesiaca'' is an ongoing botanical project aimed at achieving a full account of the flowering plants and ferns of the Zambezi River basin covering Zambia, Malawi, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana and the Caprivi Strip, and is published by ...

'' project, a series of monographs on the flora of Africa. In 1965, Wild was appointed professor at Salisbury University College, now known as the

University of Zimbabwe The University of Zimbabwe (UZ) is a public university in Harare, Zimbabwe. It opened in 1952 as the University College of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, and was initially affiliated with the University of London. It was later renamed the University ...

. In 1980, due to ill-health, he resigned as professor at Salisbury and moved to Cape Town, South Africa.

Personal life

Hiram was the son of Hiram Wild (*July 1895, Sheffield, Yorkshire) and Margaret Hawksworth (*13 May 1896 Sheffield, Yorkshire) He married Kathleen Mabel Jean Osborne (*8 July 1918

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

) in 1945. They had 6 children.

Selected publications

*Wild, H. 'Vegetation of copper-bearing soils' - Salisbury, 1968. - 71 p. *Wild, H. 'The vegetation of nickel-bearing soils' - Causeway, 1970. - 62 p.

Plants named for Hiram Wild

*''Aristida wildii'' Melderis, 1970 *''Buchnera wildii'' Philcox, 1987 *''Clerodendrum wildii'' Moldenke, 1949 (= ''Rotheca wildii'' (Moldenke) R. Fern, 2000 *''Commiphora wildii'' Merxm. 1960 *''Cynoglossum wildii'' E.S. Martins, 1988 *''Erica wildii'' Brenan, 1964 *''Eriocaulon wildii'' S. M. Phillips, 1997 *''Euphorbia wildii'' L.C. Leach, 1975 *''Wildiana indigofera'' J.B.Gillett, 1958 *''Kalanchoe wildii'' Raym.-Hamet ex R. Fern., 1978 *''Lotus wildii'' J. B. Gillett, 1959 *''Pandiaka wildii'' Suess. 1950 *''Rhus wildii'' R. Fern. & A.Fern. 1965 - Searsia wildii ( R. Fern . & A. Fern .) Moffett, 2007 *''Rhynchosia wildii'' Verdc., 2000 *''Vernonia wildii'' Merxm., 1951 :ru:Уайлд, Хайрем

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wild, Hiram 1917 births 1982 deaths English botanists People from Sheffield British expatriates in Southern Rhodesia