His Majesty's Botanist is a member of the Royal household in

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean 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 Edinburgh The Royal status of the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (RBGE) is intrinsically linked to the issue of a Royal Warrant to the first Intendant of the Gardens in 1699. Since that date, the appointment of each new Director of RBGE has required the as ...

, who also held the post of Regius Professor of Botany at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

. Since then the office of HM Botanist has been honorary, but conferred on a serving or retired Regius Keeper.

Office holders

* 1699: James Sutherland * 1715: Dr William Arthur * 1716: Charles Alston * 1761: Dr John Hope * 1786: Daniel Rutherford MD * 1820: Robert Graham MD * 1845:

John Hutton Balfour John Hutton Balfour (15 September 1808 – 11 February 1884) was a Scottish botanist. Balfour became a Professor of Botany, first at the University of Glasgow in 1841, moving to the University of Edinburgh and also becoming the 7th Regius Keepe ...

MD * 1880: Alexander Dickson MD LLD * 1888: Sir

Isaac Bayley Balfour Sir Isaac Bayley Balfour, KBE, FRS, FRSE (31 March 1853 – 30 November 1922) was a Scottish botanist. He was Regius Professor of Botany at the University of Glasgow from 1879 to 1885, Sherardian Professor of Botany at the University of Oxfor ...

* 1922: Prof. Sir William Wright Smith (d 1956) * 1966: Harold Roy Fletcher (d 1978) * 1987: Prof.

Douglas Mackay Henderson Douglas Mackay Henderson CBE FRSE FLS (30 August 1927 – 10 November 2007) was a Scottish botanist, the 12th Regius Keeper of the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh from 1970 to 1987. Life He was born in Blairgowrie on 30 August 1927, the secon ...

* 2010: Prof

Stephen Blackmore Stephen Blackmore CBE FRSE FRSB FLS (born 30 July 1952) is a British botanist, who was educated at St. George's School, Hong Kong and the University of Reading where he completed his PhD in 1976 on the "Palynology and Systematics of the C ...

London Gazette, 10 Sep 2010.
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References

Sources

* Holders from 1703 to 1820 from "Exchequer Establishment List" c.1770 (E/229/10/1) in National Archives of Scotland
Royal Botanic Garden: A Brief History

Office holders

See also

References

Sources

Further reading