John Wyndham Dawson (1 February 1928 – 11 March 2019) was a New Zealand

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 ...

Early life and education

Dawson was born in

Eketāhuna Eketāhuna is a small rural settlement, in the south of the Tararua (district), New Zealand, Tararua District and the Manawatū-Whanganui region of New Zealand's North Island. The town is located at eastern foot of the Tararua Ranges, 35 kilome ...

on 1 February 1928. He was educated at Eketahuna District High School and

Christchurch Boys' High School , motto_translation = I Seek Higher Things , type = State school, Day and Boarding school , gender = Boys , song = The School We Magnify , colours = Blue and Black , established = , address = 71 Straven R ...

. He studied at

Victoria University College Victoria University of Wellington ( mi, Te Herenga Waka) is a university in Wellington, New Zealand. It was established in 1897 by Act of Parliament, and was a constituent college of the University of New Zealand. The university is well know ...

from 1947 to 1952, graduating with a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

with second-class honours in 1953. He was then awarded a

Fulbright Scholarship The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States Cultural Exchange Programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people of ...

, and undertook doctoral studies at the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

, from where he gained a

PhD PHD or PhD may refer to: * Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), an academic qualification Entertainment * '' PhD: Phantasy Degree'', a Korean comic series * ''Piled Higher and Deeper'', a web comic * Ph.D. (band), a 1980s British group ** Ph.D. (Ph.D. albu ...

in January 1958. The title of his thesis was ''A revision of the genus Anisotome Hook f. (Umbelliferae)''. In 1958, Dawson married Judith Macken, and the couple went on to have three children.

Career

In 1957, Dawson was appointed to the faculty of the Department of Botany at Victoria University College (from 1962 known as

Victoria University of Wellington Victoria University of Wellington ( mi, Te Herenga Waka) is a university in Wellington, New Zealand. It was established in 1897 by Act of Parliament, and was a constituent college of the University of New Zealand. The university is well know ...

), and remained there until his retirement in 1988, having risen to the rank of associate professor. He served as head of the Botany Department between 1984 and 1987. Dawson was a

Fellow of the Linnaean Society 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 ...

. Dawson's research covered the characteristics, relationships and history of New Zealand plants. In particular, he was interested in the ''

Umbelliferae Apiaceae or Umbelliferae is a family of mostly aromatic flowering plants named after the type genus ''Apium'' and commonly known as the celery, carrot or parsley family, or simply as umbellifers. It is the 16th-largest family of flowering plants ...

'' family of alpine plants, and he also studied New Caledonian flora from the family ''

Myrtaceae Myrtaceae, the myrtle family, is a family of dicotyledonous plants placed within the order Myrtales. Myrtle, pōhutukawa, bay rum tree, clove, guava, acca (feijoa), allspice, and eucalyptus are some notable members of this group. All speci ...

''. After his retirement from Victoria, Dawson continued his botanical research in New Caledonia, he ran extension courses on the native plants of New Zealand, and was a guide at

Otari-Wilton's Bush Otari-Wilton's Bush is a native botanic garden and forest reserve located in Wilton in Wellington, New Zealand. It is the only public botanic garden that is dedicated solely to the native plants of New Zealand. Overview Otari-Wilton's Bus ...

. Dawson's book, ''New Zealand's Native Trees'', co-written with Rob Lucas, was named "Book of the Year" at the 2012 New Zealand Post Book Awards.

Death

Dawson died in

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

on 11 March 2019.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dawson, John 1928 births 2019 deaths People from Eketāhuna Victoria University of Wellington alumni UC Berkeley College of Natural Resources alumni 20th-century New Zealand botanists Academic staff of Victoria University of Wellington 21st-century New Zealand botanists Fellows of the Linnean Society of London