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. 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 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, 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), 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. 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 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