William Anderson (1766–1846), was a Scottish horticulturist. Anderson was born in Easter Warrington,

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

in Scotland, his father having been, just previous to the

rising of 1745 The Jacobite rising of 1745, also known as the Forty-five Rebellion or simply the '45 ( gd, Bliadhna Theàrlaich, , ), was an attempt by Charles Edward Stuart to regain the British throne for his father, James Francis Edward Stuart. It took p ...

, forester and gardener to a Jacobite laird in the western highlands, who had some share in favouring the escape of

Charles Edward Stuart Charles Edward Louis John Sylvester Maria Casimir Stuart (20 December 1720 – 30 January 1788) was the elder son of James Francis Edward Stuart, grandson of James II and VII, and the Stuart claimant to the thrones of England, Scotland and ...

. About 1790 he entered upon gardening work in some nurseries near Edinburgh, and subsequently made his way to London, where he became gardener to James Vere, of

Kensington Gore Kensington Gore is the name of a U-shaped thoroughfare on the south side of Hyde Park in central London, England. The streets connect the Royal Albert Hall with the Royal College of Art, the Royal Geographical Society, and in Kensington Garde ...

, a wealthy silk merchant who had a large collection of plants.An earlier gardener to Vere was John Graeffer. In 1814 he was appointed by the

Society of Apothecaries The Worshipful Society of Apothecaries of London is one of the livery companies of the City of London. It is one of the largest livery companies (with over 1,600 members in 2012) and ranks 58th in their order of precedence. The society is a m ...

gardener—a title changed during his occupancy of the office to curator—of their botanic garden at Chelsea, a post which he filled until his death. He at once set to work to raise the garden from the state of neglect into which it had fallen, and his efforts were attended with great success. He was said to be tall and burly, somewhat rough in manners and appearance, but warm-hearted and charitable. He was elected an associate of the Linnean Society in 1798, and became a fellow in 1815; he contributed various papers on horticultural subjects to the '' Gardener's Magazine'' and '' Horticultural Society's Transactions.'' He died at Chelsea, 6 October 1846, and is buried in the churchyard of the old church.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Anderson, William 1766 births 1846 deaths 19th-century Scottish people 18th-century Scottish people Scottish horticulturists Burials at Chelsea Old Church