Robert James Douglas Graham FRSE (1884–1950) was a Scottish botanist.

Life

He was born on 20 July 1884 in

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth i ...

, the son of Dr John Thomas Graham. His family lived at 4 Athole Crescent in Perth. He was educated at

Perth Academy Perth Academy is a state comprehensive secondary school in Perth, Scotland. It was founded in 1696. The institution is a non-denominational one. The school occupies ground on the side of a hill in the Viewlands area of Perth, and is within the P ...

then attended the

University of St Andrews (Aien aristeuein) , motto_lang = grc , mottoeng = Ever to ExcelorEver to be the Best , established = , type = Public research university Ancient university , endowment ...

, graduating with an MA in 1904. From 1910 to 1914 he served as economic botanist to the Indian Agricultural Service. In the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

he served as a lieutenant colonel in the Indian Army Reserve. In 1919 and 1920 he was director of agriculture for

Mesopotamia Mesopotamia ''Mesopotamíā''; ar, بِلَاد ٱلرَّافِدَيْن or ; syc, ܐܪܡ ܢܗܪ̈ܝܢ, or , ) is a historical region of Western Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the ...

. In 1921 he went to the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

as a lecturer in botany. In 1924 he was elected a fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. His proposers were Sir William Wright Smith,

Frederick Orpen Bower Frederick Orpen Bower FRSE FRS (4 November 1855 – 11 April 1948) was an English botanist. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1891. He was awarded the Gold Medal of the Linnean Society in 1909 and the Darwin Medal of the Ro ...

, Sir D'Arcy Wentworth Thompson and Robert Campbell. He served the society as secretary 1939 to 1944 and vice president 1944 to 1947. In 1934 he became professor of botany at the

University of St Andrews (Aien aristeuein) , motto_lang = grc , mottoeng = Ever to ExcelorEver to be the Best , established = , type = Public research university Ancient university , endowment ...

. He died in St Andrews on 3 September 1950.

Family

He was married to Johanna (Oona) M. Reid.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Graham, Robert James Douglas 1884 births 1950 deaths People from Perth, Scotland 20th-century Scottish botanists Alumni of the University of St Andrews Academics of the University of St Andrews Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh