Sir David Cecil Smith (born 21 May 1930

Port Talbot Port Talbot (, ) is a town and community in the county borough of Neath Port Talbot, Wales, situated on the east side of Swansea Bay, approximately from Swansea. The Port Talbot Steelworks covers a large area of land which dominates the south ...

South Wales South Wales ( cy, De Cymru) is a loosely defined region of Wales bordered by England to the east and mid Wales to the north. Generally considered to include the historic counties of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire, south Wales extends westwards ...

– 29 June 2018) was a British botanist. Smith was most notable for his research into the biology of

symbiosis Symbiosis (from Greek , , "living together", from , , "together", and , bíōsis, "living") is any type of a close and long-term biological interaction between two different biological organisms, be it mutualistic, commensalistic, or para ...

and became a leading authority on it. Smith discovered that

lichen A lichen ( , ) is a composite organism that arises from algae or cyanobacteria living among filaments of multiple fungi species in a mutualistic relationship.Radiata (coelenterates) shared a similar biological mechanism in

carbohydrate metabolism Carbohydrate metabolism is the whole of the biochemistry, biochemical processes responsible for the metabolic anabolism, formation, catabolism, breakdown, and interconversion of carbohydrates in life, living organisms. Carbohydrates are central t ...

. Further research by Smith demonstrated similar processes in organisms that worked within a symbiotic relationship.

Early life and education

Smith was the youngest of two sons. His parents were William Smith, a mining engineer, and Elva (née Deeble) who was a teacher. Smith's brother Frank was killed in Canada. His father initially worked as a coal mining engineer in South Wales, before securing a position as the manager of a

Manganese Manganese is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Mn and atomic number 25. It is a hard, brittle, silvery metal, often found in minerals in combination with iron. Manganese is a transition metal with a multifaceted array of ...

mine in

Sinai desert Sinai commonly refers to: * Sinai Peninsula, Egypt * Mount Sinai, a mountain in the Sinai Peninsula, Egypt * Biblical Mount Sinai, the site in the Bible where Moses received the Law of God Sinai may also refer to: * Sinai, South Dakota, a plac ...

following the UK

General Strike A general strike refers to a strike action in which participants cease all economic activity, such as working, to strengthen the bargaining position of a trade union or achieve a common social or political goal. They are organised by large coa ...

. The family remained in the Sinai desert until the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, except for occasional periods of leave. In one such period, Smith was born, and lived in the Sinai desert until he was five, when he returned to the UK to live with his grandparents and aunt, Iris, in

where he attended primary school. When Smith was ten he was sent to

boarding school A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of " room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. As they have existed for many centuries, and now exte ...

at Colston's School,

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, city, Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Glouces ...

. After his parents returned to the UK to live in Hatch End, London, when he was 15 Smith was moved to

St Paul's School, London (''By Faith and By Learning'') , established = , closed = , type = Independent school Public school , religion = Church of England , president = , h ...

to continue his education. It was while St Paul's School, that his interest in the subject of biology started, while on field trips. He applied to study medicine at University of Oxford. However, he discovered that he could have financial support from a Browne scholarship to study

botany 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 w ...

The Queen's College, Oxford The Queen's College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford, England. The college was founded in 1341 by Robert de Eglesfield in honour of Philippa of Hainault. It is distinguished by its predominantly neoclassical architecture, ...

, so he changed programme. He was awarded a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

in Botany, achieving a

First-class honours The British undergraduate degree classification system is a grading structure for undergraduate degrees or bachelor's degrees and integrated master's degrees in the United Kingdom. The system has been applied (sometimes with significant variati ...

in 1951. Smith immediately followed this with postgraduate research on lichens and was awarded

D.Phil A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...

in 1954.

Career and research

Smith completed his Doctor of Philosophy in two years, as his

National service National service is the system of voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act 1939. The ...

was impending. He spent his time in Germany, and joined the Intelligence Corps to research

Nuclear warfare Nuclear warfare, also known as atomic warfare, is a theoretical military conflict or prepared political strategy that deploys nuclear weaponry. Nuclear weapons are weapons of mass destruction; in contrast to conventional warfare, nuclear ...

. Upon returning from national service, he was appointed to a research fellowship at

before visiting the United States under a

Harkness Fellowship The Harkness Fellowship (previously known as the Commonwealth Fund Fellowship) is a program run by the Commonwealth Fund of New York City. This fellowship was established to reciprocate the Rhodes Scholarships and enable Fellows from several cou ...

to conduct research at the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant un ...

. Smith returned to the United Kingdom to a post as a

university lecturer Lecturer is an academic rank within many universities, though the meaning of the term varies somewhat from country to country. It generally denotes an academic expert who is hired to teach on a full- or part-time basis. They may also conduct res ...

in the Department of Agricultural Science at

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

. Smith was then appointed as a Royal Society Senior

research fellow A research fellow is an academic research position at a university or a similar research institution, usually for academic staff or faculty members. A research fellow may act either as an independent investigator or under the supervision of a pr ...

Wadham College, Oxford Wadham College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It is located in the centre of Oxford, at the intersection of Broad Street and Parks Road. Wadham College was founded in 1610 by Dorothy ...

, from 1964 to 1971. From 1971 to 1974 Smith followed up that position at the same college as Tutorial Fellow (a senior Oxford academic rank), followed by Admissions Tutor at the same college. His former doctoral students include

Angela Gallop Angela Mary Cecilia Gallop (born 2 January 1950) is a British forensic scientist. She began her career with the Forensic Science Service in 1974. Since 1986, she has run her own forensic service companies. Her findings helped solve notorious ...

. In 1965, he joined the editorial board of the plant science journal '' New Phytologist''. Shortly afterwards he became Executive Editor (Editor-in-Chief) for 17 years, and continuing as an Editor and serving as a Trustee until the late 1990s. From 1974 to 1980 Smith held the Melville Wills Chair of Botany at the

University of Bristol , mottoeng = earningpromotes one's innate power (from Horace, ''Ode 4.4'') , established = 1595 – Merchant Venturers School1876 – University College, Bristol1909 – received royal charter , type ...

. Smith returned to a position at Oxford in 1980 as the Sibthorpian Professor of Rural Economy, named in honour of

John Sibthorp John Sibthorp (28 October 1758 – 8 February 1796) was an England, English botanist. Education Sibthorp graduated from the University of Oxford in 1777 where he was an undergraduate student at Lincoln College, Oxford. He subsequently stud ...

. He also acted as director of the Department of Agricultural Science. Between 1987 and 1994, Smith was Principal of 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 1 ...

. From 1994 to September 2000 he was President of

Wolfson College, Oxford Wolfson College () is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Located in north Oxford along the River Cherwell, Wolfson is an all-graduate college with around sixty governing body fellows, in addition to both research a ...

He became an Honorary Fellow of

in 2002. He was a distinguished supporter of

Humanists UK Humanists UK, known from 1967 until May 2017 as the British Humanist Association (BHA), is a charitable organisation which promotes secular humanism and aims to represent "people who seek to live good lives without religious or superstitious b ...

. He was a member of the Advisory Council for the

Campaign for Science and Engineering The Campaign for Science and Engineering (CaSE) is a non-profit organisation that is the UK's leading independent advocate for science and engineering. It focuses on arguing for more research funding, promoting a high-tech and knowledge-based e ...

Honors and awards

Smith also received an honorary doctorate from

Heriot-Watt University Heriot-Watt University ( gd, Oilthigh Heriot-Watt) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was established in 1821 as the School of Arts of Edinburgh, the world's first mechanics' institute, and subsequently granted univ ...

in 1993 He was elected as a

fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the judges of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural knowledge, including mathemati ...

in 1975 and was biological secretary from 1983 to 1987. He was awarded a knighthood in 1986. Smith was awarded the Gold Medal for Botany by 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 ...

and served as president of the society from 2000 to 2003. In 2003 he received the Acharius Medal from the International Association for Lichenology.

Personal life

Smith married twice, firstly in 1959 to the plant physiologist Daphne Osborne, but they divorced in 1962. In 1965, he married Lesley Mutch, a Scottish doctor and

epidemiologist Epidemiology is the study and analysis of the distribution (who, when, and where), patterns and determinants of health and disease conditions in a defined population. It is a cornerstone of public health, and shapes policy decisions and evid ...

and they had three children together, called Bryony, Adam and Cameron. Upon his retirement, the family returned to Morningside in

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 2000.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, David 1930 births 2018 deaths People from Port Talbot Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Alumni of The Queen's College, Oxford Welsh scholars and academics Academics of the University of Bristol Principals of the University of Edinburgh Presidents of Wolfson College, Oxford Fellows of The Queen's College, Oxford Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Fellows of the Royal Society Presidents of the Linnean Society of London Knights Bachelor Welsh botanists British lichenologists Acharius Medal recipients