James Townsend Mackay (1775–1862) was a Scottish

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 ...

who lived in Ireland.

Life

He was born in

Kirkcaldy Kirkcaldy ( ; sco, Kirkcaldy; gd, Cair Chaladain) is a town and former royal burgh in Fife, on the east coast of Scotland. It is about north of Edinburgh and south-southwest of Dundee. The town had a recorded population of 49,460 in 2011, ...

Fifeshire Fife (, ; gd, Fìobha, ; sco, Fife) is a council area, historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries with Perth and Kinross (i.e ...

, about 1775. After being educated at the parish school he was trained as a gardener, and having filled several posts in Scotland went to Ireland in 1803. He visited the west of the island in 1804 and 1805, and as a result published a 'Catalogue of the Rarer Plants of Ireland' in the ''Transactions'' of the

Royal Dublin Society The Royal Dublin Society (RDS) ( ga, Cumann Ríoga Bhaile Átha Cliath) is an Irish philanthropic organisation and members club which was founded as the 'Dublin Society' on 25 June 1731 with the aim to see Ireland thrive culturally and economi ...

for the following year. This catalogue he enlarged into the 'Catalogue of the Indigenous Plants of Ireland,' published in 1825 in the ''Transactions'' of the

Royal Irish Academy The Royal Irish Academy (RIA; ga, Acadamh Ríoga na hÉireann), based in Dublin, is an academic body that promotes study in the sciences, humanities and social sciences. It is Ireland's premier List of Irish learned societies, learned socie ...

, which was again the basis of his ''Flora Hibernica,'' published in 1836, the cryptogamic portion of which was by Drs. Harvey and Taylor. The governors of

Trinity College, Dublin , name_Latin = Collegium Sanctae et Individuae Trinitatis Reginae Elizabethae juxta Dublin , motto = ''Perpetuis futuris temporibus duraturam'' (Latin) , motto_lang = la , motto_English = It will last i ...

, having determined to establish a botanical garden, Mackay was recommended to them as a curator, and he held the post from 1806 until his death. Soon after his appointment he was elected an associate of 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 ...

, and in 1850 the university of Dublin bestowed upon him the degree of LL.D. He was attacked by paralysis about 1860, and died of bronchitis in Dublin 25 February 1862. Mackay discovered several species of plants new to the British Isles, and contributed largely to Sir J. E. Smith's ''English Botany'' (1790–1814). His herbarium is preserved at Trinity College Dublin. Several unsuccessful attempts were made to perpetuate his name, which is now borne by a genus of seaweeds, ''Mackaya'', so named by Dr. Harvey, and by a species of heather, ''Erica mackayana''.

Works

*''Flora Hibernica: comprising the Flowering plants, Ferns, Caraceae, Musci, Hepaticae, Lichenes and Algae of Ireland''.(William Curry Jun and Company, Dublin, 1836)

Full text.

References

;Attribution

Sources

*University of Dublin; History, with Biographical Notices. William B. S. Taylor. London, 1845.

External links

History of College Botanic Gardens
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mackay, James Townsend 19th-century Irish botanists People associated with Trinity College Dublin 1775 births 1862 deaths Scottish emigrants to Ireland People from Kirkcaldy