John Hutchinson,

OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

, FRS (7 April 1884 Blindburn, Northumberland – 2 September 1972

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

) was an English

botanist Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek wo ...

, taxonomist and author.''A Botanist in Southern Africa'' John Hutchinson (London, 1946)

Life and career

Born in Blindburn,

Wark on Tyne Wark on Tyne is a small village and civil parish in Northumberland, England, north of Hexham. History The name is derived from the Anglo-Saxon word for earthworks, and refers to the mound at the south of the village. Wark was once the capita ...

Northumberland Northumberland () is a county in Northern England, one of two counties in England which border with Scotland. Notable landmarks in the county include Alnwick Castle, Bamburgh Castle, Hadrian's Wall and Hexham Abbey. It is bordered by land on ...

, England, he received his horticultural training in Northumberland and Durham and was appointed a student gardener at

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 ...

in 1904. His taxonomic and drawing skills were soon noticed and resulted in his being appointed to the Herbarium in 1905. He moved from assistant in the Indian section to assistant for Tropical Africa, returning to Indian botany from 1915 to 1919, and from then on was in charge of the African section until 1936 when he was appointed Keeper of the Museums of Botany at Kew. He retired in 1948 but continued working on the

phylogeny A phylogenetic tree (also phylogeny or evolutionary tree Felsenstein J. (2004). ''Inferring Phylogenies'' Sinauer Associates: Sunderland, MA.) is a branching diagram or a tree showing the evolutionary relationships among various biological spec ...

of flowering plants and publishing two parts of ''The Genera of Flowering Plants''. John Hutchinson proposed a radical revision of the angiosperm classification systems devised by Joseph Dalton Hooker and that of Adolf Engler and

Karl Anton Eugen Prantl Karl Anton Eugen Prantl (10 September 1849 – 24 February 1893), also known as Carl Anton Eugen Prantl, was a German botanist. Prantl was born in Munich, Kingdom of Bavaria, and studied in Munich. In 1870 he graduated with the dissertation ...

which had become widely accepted during the 20th century. At its simplest, his system suggested two main divisions of

angiosperms Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...

, herbaceous and woody. Hutchinson made two extended collecting trips to South Africa, which were recounted in great detail in ''A Botanist in Southern Africa''. His first visit was from August 1928 to April 1929, and the second from June 1930 to September 1930 on which occasion the expedition travelled north as far as

Lake Tanganyika Lake Tanganyika () is an African Great Lake. It is the second-oldest freshwater lake in the world, the second-largest by volume, and the second-deepest, in all cases after Lake Baikal in Siberia. It is the world's longest freshwater lake. ...

Awards

* He was awarded an honorary degree of LL.D. by

University of St Andrews (Aien aristeuein) , motto_lang = grc , mottoeng = Ever to ExcelorEver to be the Best , established = , type = Public research university Ancient university , endowment ...

in 1934. * Awarded Veitch Memorial Medal in 1937. * Awarded the Victoria Medal (horticulture) in 1944 for outstanding contributions to horticulture. * Awarded Linnaean Gold Medal in 1968. * He was awarded the

Linnean Society of London The Linnean Society of London is a learned society dedicated to the study and dissemination of information concerning natural history, evolution, and taxonomy. It possesses several important biological specimen, manuscript and literature colle ...

's Darwin-Wallace Medal in 1958. * He was elected Honorary Fellow of the Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation (ATBC) in 1965 * He was elected a Fellow of the

Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...

(FRS) in 1947 * Awarded O.B.E. shortly before his death * Commemorated in the genus ''

Hutchinsonia ''Hutchinsonia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae The Rubiaceae are a family of flowering plants, commonly known as the coffee, madder, or bedstraw family. It consists of terrestrial trees, shrubs, lianas, or herbs that ...

'' Robyns.

Personal life

Hutchinson was married and had two sons and three daughters, one of whom lived in South Africa. He spent his leisure time roaming the English countryside with his wife in a caravan drawing wild flowers. At his funeral a wreath largely made of South African flowers was sent by his colleagues at the Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew.

First Southern Africa trip August 1928 – April 1929

Hutchinson arrived in

Table Bay Table Bay (Afrikaans: ''Tafelbaai'') is a natural bay on the Atlantic Ocean overlooked by Cape Town (founded 1652 by Van Riebeeck) and is at the northern end of the Cape Peninsula, which stretches south to the Cape of Good Hope. It was named ...

and spent the first few weeks collecting in and around

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 ...

and Table Mountain, with short trips further afield. His first lengthy trip was to Namaqualand and

Bushmanland Bushmanland (Boesmanland in Afrikaans) may refer to: * Bushmanland (South West Africa), a bantustan in South West Africa (present-day Namibia) * Bushmanland, Northern Cape Bushmanland is an arid area south of the Orange River and west of Kenhar ...

with fellow botanist and succulent specialist,

Neville Stuart Pillans Neville may refer to: Places *Neville, New South Wales, Australia *Neville, Saskatchewan, Canada *Néville, in the Seine-Maritime department, France *Néville-sur-Mer, in the Manche department, France *Neville, Ohio, USA *Neville Township, Penns ...

. Back in Cape Town he purchased a small Citroën car and set off on 30 October in the company of Rudolf Marloth, who left them at

Barrydale Barrydale is a village located on the border of the Overberg and Klein Karoo regions of the Western Cape Province in South Africa. It was named after Joseph Barry, a well known merchant of the 19th century. It is situated at the northern end of th ...

, and Jan Gillett, the son of Arthur Gillett at the University of Oxford (one of the founders of

Oxfam Oxfam is a British-founded confederation of 21 independent charitable organizations focusing on the alleviation of global poverty, founded in 1942 and led by Oxfam International. History Founded at 17 Broad Street, Oxford, as the Oxford Co ...

). On this occasion their route followed the southern Cape coast as far as

Port Elizabeth Gqeberha (), formerly Port Elizabeth and colloquially often referred to as P.E., is a major seaport and the most populous city in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It is the seat of the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality, Sou ...

. Here Gillett's place was taken by

Robert Allen Dyer Robert Allen Dyer (21 September 1900 Pietermaritzburg – 26 October 1987 Johannesburg) was a South African botanist and taxonomist, working particularly on Amaryllidaceae and succulent plants, contributing to and editing of ''Bothalia'' and ''F ...

and the route veered inland to

Grahamstown Makhanda, also known as Grahamstown, is a town of about 140,000 people in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It is situated about northeast of Port Elizabeth and southwest of East London, Eastern Cape, East London. Makhanda is the lar ...

and Katberg, then back to the coast, visiting

Butterworth Butterworth may refer to: Places * Butterworth (ancient township), a former township centred on Milnrow, in the then Parish of Rochdale, England, United Kingdom * Butterworth, Eastern Cape, now also known as Gcuwa, a town located in South Africa ...

, Port St Johns,

Kokstad Kokstad is a town in the Harry Gwala District Municipality of KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa. Kokstad is named after the Griqua chief Adam Kok III who settled here in 1863. Kokstad is the capital town of the East Griqualand region, as it i ...

Pietermaritzburg Pietermaritzburg (; Zulu: umGungundlovu) is the capital and second-largest city in the province of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It was founded in 1838 and is currently governed by the Msunduzi Local Municipality. Its Zulu name umGungundlovu ...

and

Durban Durban ( ) ( zu, eThekwini, from meaning 'the port' also called zu, eZibubulungwini for the mountain range that terminates in the area), nicknamed ''Durbs'',Ishani ChettyCity nicknames in SA and across the worldArticle on ''news24.com'' from ...

. From here Hutchinson travelled on his own and in

Pretoria Pretoria () is South Africa's administrative capital, serving as the seat of the Executive (government), executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to South Africa. Pretoria straddles the Apies River and extends ...

joined up with General Smuts, who was a keen and knowledgeable botanist, to the far northern

Transvaal Transvaal is a historical geographic term associated with land north of (''i.e.'', beyond) the Vaal River in South Africa. A number of states and administrative divisions have carried the name Transvaal. * South African Republic (1856–1902; af, ...

to explore

Lake Fundudzi Lake Fundudzi ( Lake Funduzi) is located in the Soutpansberg in the Limpopo Province of South Africa. Measuring about 5 km by 3 km when full, it was created by an ancient landslide blocking the course of the Mutale River. The lake and its residen ...

, sacred to the

Venda Venda () was a Bantustan in northern South Africa, which is fairly close to the South African border with Zimbabwe to the north, while to the south and east, it shared a long border with another black homeland, Gazankulu. It is now part of the ...

people. *16–22 August 1928

Cape Peninsula The Cape Peninsula ( af, Kaapse Skiereiland) is a generally mountainous peninsula that juts out into the Atlantic Ocean at the south-western extremity of the African continent. At the southern end of the peninsula are Cape Point and the Cape of ...

*25 August

Worcester Worcester may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England ** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament * Worcester Park, London, Englan ...

*31 August Matjesfontein *4 September Malmesbury to

Darling Darling is a term of endearment of Old English origin. Darling or Darlin' or Darlings may also refer to: People * Darling (surname) * Darling Jimenez (born 1980), American boxer * Darling Légitimus (1907–1999), French actress Places Austral ...

*5 September Hopefield to Vredenburg *6 September coast north of Saldanha Bay *10 September Hottentots Holland Mountains *16 September above Tulbagh Waterfall *21 September

Sir Lowry's Pass Sir Lowry's Pass is a mountain pass on the N2 national road in the Western Cape province of South Africa. It crosses the Hottentots Holland Mountains between Somerset West and the Elgin valley, on the main route between Cape Town and the Gard ...

*30 September gorge west of

Ceres Ceres most commonly refers to: * Ceres (dwarf planet), the largest asteroid * Ceres (mythology), the Roman goddess of agriculture Ceres may also refer to: Places Brazil * Ceres, Goiás, Brazil * Ceres Microregion, in north-central Goiás st ...

*5 October lighthouse at

Sea Point Sea Point (Afrikaans: ''Seepunt'') is one of Cape Town's most affluent and densely populated suburbs, situated between Signal Hill and the Atlantic Ocean, a few kilometres to the west of Cape Town's Central Business District (CBD). Moving from ...

*9 October

Sutherland Sutherland ( gd, Cataibh) is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area in the Highlands of Scotland. Its county town is Dornoch. Sutherland borders Caithness and Moray Firth to the east, Ross-shire and Cromartyshire (later ...

to Middlepost *10 October near Elandsfontein *11 October near Nieuwoudtville *13 October near Bitterfontein *13 October Garies to

Kamieskroon Kamieskroon is a small town in the Kamiesberg Local Municipality, lying in the foothills of the Kamiesberge at an elevation of approximately 800 m (2 600 ft). The town is more or less in the centre of Namaqualand, about 70 km (43 m ...

*15 October O'okiep to Steinkopf *16 October poort between Concordia and Pella *16 October Pella to Pofadder *18 October Kenhardt *27 October Bain's Kloof *29 October Paarl *30 October

Robertson Robertson may refer to: People * Robertson (surname) (includes a list of people with this name) * Robertson (given name) * Clan Robertson, a Scottish clan * Robertson, stage name of Belgian magician Étienne-Gaspard Robert (1763–1837) Places ...

*31 October Montagu to

*1 November Waterkloof, Ladismith *1 November

Seweweekspoort Seweweekspoort is a mountain pass located along the R323 regional route running from Zoar and Laingsburg in the western Little Karoo region of South Africa's Western Cape The Western Cape is a province of South Africa, situated on the s ...

*2 November Calitzdorp to Cango *3 November southern side of

Swartberg Pass The Swartberg Pass on the R328 runs over the Swartberg mountain range (''black mountain'' in English) which runs roughly east–west along the northern edge of the semi-arid area called the Little Karoo in the Western Cape province of South A ...

*4 November

Oudtshoorn Oudtshoorn (, ), the "ostrich capital of the world", is a town in the Western Cape province of South Africa, located between the Swartberg mountains to the north and the Outeniqua Mountains to the south. Two ostrich-feather booms, during 1865–1 ...

to Montagu Pass *5 November Pacaltsdorp *5 November Touws River near

George George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd Presiden ...

*5 November Phantom Pass near

Knysna Knysna () is a town with 76,150 inhabitants (2019 mid-year estimates) in the Western Cape province of South Africa. and is one of the destinations on the loosely defined Garden Route tourist route. It lies at 34° 2' 6.3168'' S and 23° 2' 47. ...

*7 November Belvedere near

*8 November Plettenberg Bay *8 November Bitou River *9 November Keurbooms River *9 November Grootrivier Pass *10 November Witelsbos *12 November Kareedouw Pass *12 November Kareedouw to Humansdorp *13 November Jeffreys Bay *14 November Gamtoos River Pass *16 November

Uitenhage Uitenhage ( ; ), officially renamed Kariega, is a South African town in the Eastern Cape Province. It is well known for the Volkswagen factory located there, which is the biggest car factory on the African continent. Along with the city of Port El ...

*16 November near Addo *17 November Howieson's Poort near

*18 November Bathurst *19 November Fish River Valley *19 November Pluto's Vale *20 November Botha's Hill *26 November Grahamstown to Fort Beaufort *26 November hills above Balfour *27 November top of Katberg *28 November Seymour to

Alice Alice may refer to: * Alice (name), most often a feminine given name, but also used as a surname Literature * Alice (''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland''), a character in books by Lewis Carroll * ''Alice'' series, children's and teen books by ...

*28 November King William's Town to

East London East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the f ...

*29 November Mooiplaats to Komgha *1 December Libode *1 December mountain forest near Port St Johns *3 December Port St Johns to Lusikisiki *3 December Flagstaff *4 December Flagstaff to

*5 December Mt Currie *6 December

Botanical Garden *6 December Umgeni *10 December

Howick Howick may refer to: Places *Howick, KwaZulu-Natal, in South Africa **Howick Falls * Howick, Lancashire, a small hamlet (Howick Cross) and former civil parish in England *Howick, New Zealand **Howick Historical Village **Howick (New Zealand electo ...

, Mooi River *11 December Ladysmith, Natal *14 December

Warmbaths Bela-Bela ( Tswana/Pedi for "the pot that boils") is a town in the Limpopo Province of South Africa. Deriving its name from the geothermic hot springs around which the town was built, it was called Warmbaths, until 2002. The town is situated i ...

*15 December near Potgietersrust *16 December

Louis Trichardt Louis may refer to: * Louis (coin) * Louis (given name), origin and several individuals with this name * Louis (surname) * Louis (singer), Serbian singer * HMS ''Louis'', two ships of the Royal Navy See also Derived or associated terms * Lewis (d ...

to Wylliespoort *18 December Limpopo River near

Messina Messina (, also , ) is a harbour city and the capital of the Italian Metropolitan City of Messina. It is the third largest city on the island of Sicily, and the 13th largest city in Italy, with a population of more than 219,000 inhabitants in ...

*19 December Dongola *21 December Thomson's Store to Lake Fundudzi *23 December Witvlag *23 December Woodbush near Tzaneen *24 December Moorddrift *28 December koppie at Fountains Valley near

*31 December Hartebeespoort in the Magaliesberg *2 January 1929 Doornkloof near

Irene Irene is a name derived from εἰρήνη (eirēnē), the Greek for "peace". Irene, and related names, may refer to: * Irene (given name) Places * Irene, Gauteng, South Africa * Irene, South Dakota, United States * Irene, Texas, United Stat ...

*5 January Louw's Creek to Maid of the Mist Mountain *7 January Barberton to Louw's Creek *7 January Barberton to Lomati Falls *8 January Impala Siding near Barberton *9 January

Komatipoort Komatipoort is a town situated at the confluence of the Crocodile and Komati Rivers in Mpumalanga province, South Africa. The town is 8 km from the Crocodile Bridge Gate into the Kruger Park, and just 5 km from the Mozambique border and ...

*9 January western slopes of Lebombo Mountains, Portuguese East Africa *15 January Horn's Nek, Magaliesberg *22 January between Potgietersrust and Swerwerskraal *23 January Magalakwin River Bridge *24 January north of Blaauwberg *29 January

Premier Mine The Premier Mine is an underground diamond mine owned by Petra Diamonds in the town of Cullinan, east of Pretoria, Gauteng Province, South Africa. Established in 1902, it was renamed the Cullinan Diamond Mine in November 2003 in celebratio ...

near Pretoria *30 January between Arnot and

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...

*2 February

Machadodorp Machadodorp, also known by its official name eNtokozweni, is a small town situated on the N4 road, near the edge of the escarpment in the Mpumalanga province, South Africa. The Elands River runs through the town. There is a natural radioactive sp ...

*3 February Maskew's farm Suikerboskop near Belfast *6 February Magatosnek near Rustenburg *7 February Rustenburg to Zeerust *8 February hills north of Zeerust *9 February 15 miles west of

Mafeking Mafikeng, officially known as Mahikeng and previously Mafeking (, ), is the capital city of the North West province of South Africa. Close to South Africa's border with Botswana, Mafikeng is northeast of Cape Town and west of Johannesburg. In ...

*10 February Vryburg to Schweizer-Reneke *11 February

Wolmaransstad Wolmaransstad (Afrikaans for "Wolmarans City") is a maize-farming town situated on the N12 (South Africa), N12 between Johannesburg and Kimberley, South Africa, Kimberley in North West Province (South Africa), North West Province of South Africa. ...

and

Klerksdorp Klerksdorp () is located in the North West Province, South Africa. Klerksdorp, the largest city in the North West Province, is located southeast of Mahikeng, the provincial capital. Klerksdorp was also the first capital of the then Transvaal Repub ...

*15 February near Parys, Orange Free State *18 February Christiana to Warrenton *19 February koppies near

Kimberley Kimberly or Kimberley may refer to: Places and historical events Australia * Kimberley (Western Australia) ** Roman Catholic Diocese of Kimberley * Kimberley Warm Springs, Tasmania * Kimberley, Tasmania a small town * County of Kimberley, a ...

*20 February Kimberley to Riverton *21 February Baviaanskrantz near Kaap Plateau *22 February hills between Papkuil and Postmasburg *23 February hills east of Asbestos Mountains *24 February near Campbell *28 February Kaffir River to Edenburg, Orange Free State *1 March Fauresmith Reserve *3 March near Colesberg *4 March Kikvorsch Mountains near Noupoort *6 March near Tafelberg, Middelburg, Cape Province *8 March Roode Hoogte Pass *8 March Naude's Pass *9 March Groote River to

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...

*10 March

Meiringspoort Meiringspoort (Afrikaans for "Meiring's pass") is a South African mountain pass on the N12 national road, where it crosses the Swartberg mountain range. Geography The pass is a gateway that connects the Little Karoo and the Great Karoo, throug ...

*13 March

*15 March Mossel Bay *24 March Robinson Pass *25 March Riviersonderend *26 March Caledon to Hermanus *5 April Table Mountain *9 April Zeekoevlei

Second African trip June 1930 – September 1930

Having met Hutchinson on his previous visit to South Africa, General Smuts invited him to join a party consisting of Margaret Clark Gillett with two of her sons, Jan and Anthony, on a trip to

. They set off from

on 28 June 1930 in a convoy of seven vehicles and were joined at Beit Bridge by

Illtyd Buller Pole-Evans Illtyd Buller Pole-Evans CMG (3 September 1879 – 16 October 1968) was a Welsh-born South African botanist. Sometimes his first name is spelled Iltyd. Biography Pole-Evans was born in Llanmaes in the Vale of Glamorgan, the son of an Anglican ...

. They collected all the way to Lake Tanganyika and then retraced their route to Broken Hill, where Hutchinson boarded a goods train to Elizabethville (

Lubumbashi Lubumbashi (former names: ( French), (Dutch)) is the second-largest city in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, located in the country's southeasternmost part, along the border with Zambia. The capital and principal city of the Haut-Katanga ...

). On his return to Pretoria, and with time in hand, he set off on a trip to the Soutpansberg with Jan Gillett. Then followed a week in the Drakensberg, climbing to the top of Mont-aux-Sources with two fellow botanists, Ms. Verdoorn and Ms. Forbes. A final flurry of collecting at Botha's Hill near

, and

, saw the end of a fruitful visit.

List of selected publications

Books

* Volume 1:

Dicotyledon The dicotyledons, also known as dicots (or, more rarely, dicotyls), are one of the two groups into which all the flowering plants (angiosperms) were formerly divided. The name refers to one of the typical characteristics of the group: namely, t ...

ae 1926, Volume 2:

Monocotyledon Monocotyledons (), commonly referred to as monocots, (Lilianae ''sensu'' Chase & Reveal) are grass and grass-like flowering plants (angiosperms), the seeds of which typically contain only one embryonic leaf, or cotyledon. They constitute one of ...

ae 1934. * Volume 1
Dicotyledonae
at

Google Books Google Books (previously known as Google Book Search, Google Print, and by its code-name Project Ocean) is a service from Google Inc. that searches the full text of books and magazines that Google has scanned, converted to text using optical c ...

, Volume 2
Monocotyledonae
at

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...

br>Available to borrow: 2 vols
* * ''The Genera of Flowering Plants'' (Oxford, Vol.1 (1964), Vol.2 (1967), Vol. 3 (posthumously)) a
* ''Common Wild Flowers'' (1945) * ''More Common Wild Flowers'' (1948) * ''Uncommon Wild Flowers'' (1950) * ''British Wild Flowers'' (1955) * ''The Story of Plants'' with R. Melville * ''A Botanist in Southern Africa'' (London, 1946) * ''Flora of West Tropical Africa'' with Dr John McEwen Dalziel /keytofamiliesoff00hutc/page/n5 Internet Archive
* ''Evolution and Phylogeny of Flowering Plants'' (1969)

Articles

* *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hutchinson, John 1884 births 1972 deaths English botanists English taxonomists Fellows of the Royal Society Fellows of the Linnean Society of London Officers of the Order of the British Empire Veitch Memorial Medal recipients Victoria Medal of Honour (Horticulture) recipients Linnean Medallists Botanists active in Kew Gardens