John Gregory Hawkes OBE FLS (27 June 1915 in

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

– 6 September 2007 in

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...

) was a British

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 ...

, Mason Professor of Botany at the

University of Birmingham , mottoeng = Through efforts to heights , established = 1825 – Birmingham School of Medicine and Surgery1836 – Birmingham Royal School of Medicine and Surgery1843 – Queen's College1875 – Mason Science College1898 – Mason Univers ...

. He was a student at

Cambridge University , 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 ...

Botany School where obtained his Ph.D. (1941) and Sc.D. (1957). He specialised in studying the taxonomy of wild potato species (''

Solanum ''Solanum'' is a large and diverse genus of flowering plants, which include three food crops of high economic importance: the potato, the tomato and the eggplant (aubergine, brinjal). It is the largest genus in the nightshade family Solanaceae ...

'' sect. '' Petota''), identified sources of resistance to the

potato cyst nematode Potato root nematodes or potato cyst nematodes (PCN) are 1-mm long roundworms belonging to the genus ''Globodera'', which comprises around 12 species. They live on the roots of plants of the family Solanaceae, such as potatoes and tomatoes. PCN c ...

and played a role in establishing programs to maintain

agricultural biodiversity Agricultural biodiversity or agrobiodiversity is a subset of general biodiversity pertaining to agriculture. It can be defined as "the variety and variability of animals, plants and micro-organisms at the genetic, species and ecosystem levels that ...

. He was awarded the OBE in the

1994 Birthday Honours Queen's Birthday Honours are announced on or around the date of the Queen's Official Birthday. Publication dates vary from year to year. Most are published in supplements to the ''London Gazette'' and many are formally conferred by the monarch (or ...

. In 1985 he was awarded the

Linnean Medal The Linnean Medal of the Linnean Society of London was established in 1888, and is awarded annually to alternately a botanist or a zoologist or (as has been common since 1958) to one of each in the same year. The medal was of gold until 1976, and ...

for Botany by the

Linnean 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 ...

. He treated much of the

Solanaceae The Solanaceae , or nightshades, are a family of flowering plants that ranges from annual and perennial herbs to vines, lianas, epiphytes, shrubs, and trees, and includes a number of agricultural crops, medicinal plants, spices, weeds, and orn ...

for

Flora Europaea The ''Flora Europaea'' is a 5-volume encyclopedia of plants, published between 1964 and 1993 by Cambridge University Press. The aim was to describe all the national Floras of Europe in a single, authoritative publication to help readers identify ...

, started the Solanaceae Newsletter and organised the first Symposium on the Solanaceae. At Birmingham he started the M.Sc. course in the Conservation and Utilization of Plant Genetic Resources, which trained international students. Working with Birmingham Natural History Society and

Dorothy Cadbury Dorothy Adlington Cadbury (14 October 1892 – 21 August 1987) was an English botanist and director of confectionery company Cadbury's. Born in Birmingham, she was the oldest child of Dame Geraldine Cadbury (1864–1941) and Barrow Cadbury (18 ...

he produced "A computer - mapped flora and study of the county of Warwickshire" (1971). This was an innovative use of computers at the time using

Punched tape Five- and eight-hole punched paper tape Paper tape reader on the Harwell computer with a small piece of five-hole tape connected in a circle – creating a physical program loop Punched tape or perforated paper tape is a form of data storage ...

storage, which led to problems later on when the computer department updated their system and the old tapes had to be read slowly so as not to damage them. In 1977, Argentinian botanist

Armando Theodoro Hunziker Armando Theodoro Hunziker (August 29, 1919 in Chacabuco, Argentina – December 12, 2001 in Córdoba, Argentina) was an Argentine botanist. He had specialized in the study of systems biology of the family Solanaceae, having contributed with ...

named a genus of plants from South America, ''

Hawkesiophyton ''Hawkesiophyton'' is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Solanaceae. It is also in Solanoideae subfamily, Tribe Solandreae Miers and also Subtribe Juanulloinae. Its native range is southern Tropical America. It is found in the co ...

''(belonging to the family

) after Hawkes.

Selected publications

* A computer-mapped flora, a study of the County of

Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, and the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare at Stratford-upon-Avon an ...

. Cadbury, D. A., Hawkes, J. G., Readett, R. C. (1971). Birmingham Natural History and Philosophical Society (Birmingham, England), Academic Press. * A bibliography of plant

genetic resources Genetic resources are genetic material of actual or potential value, where genetic material means any material of plant, animal, microbial or other origin containing functional units of heredity. Genetic resources is one of the three levels of biod ...

. Hawkes, J. G., Williams, John Trevor, Hanson, Jean (1976). Rome: International Board for Plant Genetic Resources. * The Biology and taxonomy of the Solanaceae. Hawkes, J. G., Lester, R. N., Skelding, A. D. (1979). Linnean Society of London, Academic Press. * The potato: evolution, biodiversity and genetic resources. Hawkes, J. G. (1990). London: Belhaven.

References

* * * 'HAWKES, Prof. John Gregory', Who Was Who, A & C Black, 1920–2008; online edn, Oxford University Press, Dec 200
accessed 30 May 2011

External links

Obituary by Brian Ford-Lloyd in th
Independent
17 October 2007. 1915 births 2007 deaths British botanists Officers of the Order of the British Empire Presidents of the Linnean Society of London Academics of the University of Birmingham {{botanist-stub