John Ramsbottom (15 October 1885 – 14 December 1974) was a British

mycologist Mycology is the branch of biology concerned with the study of fungus, fungi, including their genetics, genetic and biochemistry, biochemical properties, their Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy and ethnomycology, their use to humans, including as a so ...

Biography

Ramsbottom was born in Manchester. He graduated from

Emmanuel College, Cambridge Emmanuel College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1584 by Sir Walter Mildmay, Chancellor of the Exchequer to Elizabeth I. The site on which the college sits was once a priory for Dominican mon ...

, and joined the staff of the

British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...

of Natural History in 1910. From 1917 to 1919, he served in

Salonika Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its metropolitan area, and the capital of the geographic region of ...

, Greece, first as a civilian

protozoologist Protozoology is the study of protozoa, the "animal-like" (i.e., motile and heterotrophic) protists. The Protozoa are considered to be a subkingdom of Protista. They are free-living organisms that are found in almost every habitat. All humans have pr ...

, then as captain in the

Royal Army Medical Corps The Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC) is a specialist corps in the British Army which provides medical services to all Army personnel and their families, in war and in peace. The RAMC, the Royal Army Veterinary Corps, the Royal Army Dental Corps a ...

. He was appointed a Member of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

in the 1919 New Year Honours, "for valuable services rendered in connection with Military Operations in Salonika," and later appointed an Officer of the Order. From 1929 to 1950, he was

Keeper of Botany The Keeper of Botany was a position at the Natural History Museum — formerly British Museum (Natural History) — in London, England, and served as head of department for botany. The position was in place between 1827 and 2013. Keepers of Bota ...

at the British Museum. He served as general secretary and twice as president of the

British Mycological Society The British Mycological Society is a learned society established in 1896 to promote the study of fungi. Formation The British Mycological Society (BMS) was formed by the combined efforts of two local societies: the Woolhope Naturalists' Field ...

, and was long editor of its ''Transactions''. He was president of the

Quekett Microscopical Club The Quekett Microscopical Club is a learned society for the promotion of microscopy. Its members come from all over the world, and include both amateur and professional microscopists. It is a registered charity and not-for-profit publisher, with th ...

from 1928 to 1931 and was elected an Honorary Member in 1937. He was president 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 ...

from 1937 to 1940 and was awarded their

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 ...

in 1965. Ramsbottom was President of the

Society for the History of Natural History The Society for the History of Natural History (SHNH) is an international society for everyone who is interested in natural history in the broadest sense. This includes botany, zoology and geology as well as natural history collections, exploration ...

from 1943-1972. He was made an Honorary Member in 1972.

Legacy

Dr Ramsbottom made a bequest to the Society in his will and it was decided to utilise this to establish ''The Ramsbottom Lecture'', to be given at the Society's International Meetings, the first being delivered in April 1976. In 1923, W.D. Buckley in Trans. Brit. Mycol. Soc. vol.9 published '' Ramsbottomia'', which is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

of fungi in the family

Pyronemataceae The Pyronemataceae are a family of fungi in the order Pezizales. It is the largest family of the Pezizales, encompassing 75 genera and approximately 500 species. Phylogenetic analyses does not support the prior classifications of this family, an ...

and named in Ramsbottom's honour.

Works

Ramsbottom had a lively style both in his lectures and in his writing, which spanned both popular and technical publications. He could write: Notable among his published works are: * (1917) "

George Edward Massee George Edward Massee (20 December 1845 – 16 February 1917) was an English mycologist, plant pathologist, and botanist. Background and education George Massee was born in Scampston, East Riding of Yorkshire, the son of a farmer. He was educat ...

" ''Journal of Botany'' 55: p. 225 * (1923) ''A handbook of the larger British Fungi'' British Museum, Dep't of Botany, London
OCLC 4142558
illustrated with engravings by

Worthington George Smith Worthington George Smith (25 March 1835 – 27 October 1917) was an English cartoonist and illustrator, archaeologist, plant pathologist, and mycologist. Background and career Worthington G. Smith was born in Shoreditch, London, the son of a ...

. *(1943) ''Edible Fungi'' Penguin Books, London * (1945) ''Poisonous fungi'' Penguin Books, London
OCLC 220637
* (1953) ''Mushrooms and Toadstools: A Study of the Activities of Fungi'' Collins, London
OCLC 657799

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ramsbottom, John 1885 births 1974 deaths British botanists British mycologists Presidents of the Linnean Society of London Linnean Medallists New Naturalist writers British Mycological Society Officers of the Order of the British Empire Fellows of the Linnean Society of London British Army personnel of World War I Royal Army Medical Corps officers