James William Helenus Trail FRS FLS (4 March 1851 – 18 September 1919) was a 20th century botanist who served as Professor of Botany at Aberdeen University from 1877 to 1919.

Life

Memorial window to J W H Trail, St Machar's Cathedral

The grave of J W H Trail, churchyard of St Machar's Cathedral

He was born in Birsay on the isle of

Orkney Orkney (; sco, Orkney; on, Orkneyjar; nrn, Orknøjar), also known as the Orkney Islands, is an archipelago in the Northern Isles of Scotland, situated off the north coast of the island of Great Britain. Orkney is 10 miles (16 km) north ...

on 4 March 1851. His father, Rev Samuel Trail, moved to Aberdeen as Professor of Theology in 1868, but James appears to have been sent to Aberdeen somewhat earlier to be educated there. When his father came they lived in the "Divinity Manse". He is earlier thought to have lived with his uncle, Adam Trail (later Traill) a teacher at the North Free Church School, who lived at 5 North Broadford. Despite a strong love of natural history he was pushed to study Medicine at Aberdeen University and graduated MB ChB around 1871. However in 1873 his love of botany was fed when he acquired an official post as botanist to the Amazon Steam Navigation Company, allowing him to spend two years in Brazil studying the tributaries of the River Amazon. In 1876 he was appointed botanist to the colony of

British Guiana British Guiana was a British colony, part of the mainland British West Indies, which resides on the northern coast of South America. Since 1966 it has been known as the independent nation of Guyana. The first European to encounter Guiana was S ...

but before he sailed he gained a superior position as Professor of Botany at Aberdeen University beginning in the autumn of 1877 in succession to Prof George Dickie. In 1893 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of London. He was also an active member of the

Cairngorm Club The Cairngorm Club is a mountaineering club, based in Aberdeen, Scotland formed in June 1887. History The Cairngorm Club was founded by Alexander Copland, Rev. Robert Lippe, Alexander Inkson M'Connochie, Rev. C. C. Macdonald, W. A. Hawes, and W ...

. In 1895 he was living at 71 High Street in Old Aberdeen, close to the university. He died on 18 September 1919 following a short illness. He is buried on the north side of

St. Machar's Cathedral St Machar's Cathedral usually called Old Machar (Scottish Gaelic: Cathair-eaglais Naomh Machar), (or, more formally, the Cathedral Church of St Machar) is a Church of Scotland church in Aberdeen, Scotland. It is located to the north of the c ...

in Old Aberdeen.

Memorials

A fine stained glass windows in

St Machar's Cathedral St Machar's Cathedral usually called Old Machar (Scottish Gaelic: Cathair-eaglais Naomh Machar), (or, more formally, the Cathedral Church of St Machar) is a Church of Scotland church in Aberdeen, Scotland. It is located to the north of the c ...

is dedicated to his memory. It was designed by

Marjorie Kemp Marjorie Boyce Kemp (1886 – 20 April 1975) was a Scottish stained-glass artist who studied under Margaret Chilton Margaret Isobel Chilton (1875–1963), born at Clifton, Bristol, was a British stained glass artist and instructor. Care ...

. In 1915,

Georg Kenneth Sutherland Georg may refer to: * ''Georg'' (film), 1997 * Georg (musical), Estonian musical * Georg (given name) * Georg (surname) * , a Kriegsmarine coastal tanker See also * George (disambiguation) George may refer to: People * George (given name) * ...

published ''

Trailia ''Trailia'' is a genus of fungi in the family Halosphaeriaceae. The genus was circumscribed by Georg Kenneth Sutherland in Trans. Brit. Mycol. Soc. vol.5 (1) on page 149 in 1915 and also New Phytologist vol.14 on page 193 in 1915. The genus nam ...

'', which is a genus of fungi in the family Halosphaeriaceae and named in Trail's honour.

Publications

*''The Fungi of Brazil'' (1874) *"The Palms of Brazil" (''Journal of Botany'') (1876/77) *''The Annals of Scottish Natural History'' *''Flowering Plants and Fern Allies of the Cairngorms'' (1895)

Family

He was married to Dr Katherine Elizabeth Milligan LLD (1862-1944), daughter of Rev Prof William Milligan also of the university.Memorial window to J W H Trail, St Machar's Cathedral

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Trail, James William Helenus 1851 births 1919 deaths People from Orkney Academics of the University of Aberdeen Scottish botanists Fellows of the Royal Society