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William Aiton (17312 February 1793) was a Scottish botanist.
Aiton was born near
Aiton was born near Hamilton Hamilton may refer to:
People
* Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname
** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland
** Lord Hamilto ...
. Having been regularly trained to the profession of a gardener, he travelled to London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
in 1754, and became assistant to Philip Miller, then superintendent of the Chelsea Physic Garden. In 1759 he was appointed director of the newly established botanical garden at Kew, where he remained until his death. He effected many improvements at the gardens, and in 1789 he published ''Hortus Kewensis
''Hortus Kewensis, or a Catalogue of the Plants Cultivated in the Royal Botanic Garden at Kew'' by William Aiton was a 1789 catalogue of all the plant species then in cultivation at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, which constituted the vast majori ...
'', a catalogue of the plants cultivated there. He is buried at nearby St. Anne's Church, Kew.
A second and enlarged edition of the ''Hortus'' was brought out in 1810–1813 by his eldest son, William Townsend Aiton.
Aiton is commemorated in the specific epithet ''aitonis''.
In 1789, he classified the Sampaguita
''Jasminum sambac'' (Arabian jasmine or Sambac jasmine) is a species of jasmine native to tropical Asia, from the Indian subcontinent to Southeast Asia. It is cultivated in many places, especially West Asia, South Asia and Southeast Asia. It is ...
plant to the ''Jasminium
Jasmine ( taxonomic name: ''Jasminum''; , ) is a genus of shrubs and vines in the olive family (Oleaceae). It contains around 200 species native to tropical and warm temperate regions of Eurasia, Africa, and Oceania. Jasmines are widely c ...
'' genus and also named it as ''Arabian Jasmine'' because it was believed that the plant originated from The Arabian Peninsula
The Arabian Peninsula, (; ar, شِبْهُ الْجَزِيرَةِ الْعَرَبِيَّة, , "Arabian Peninsula" or , , "Island of the Arabs") or Arabia, is a peninsula of Western Asia, situated northeast of Africa on the Arabian Plat ...
although the plant didn't originate from Arabia.
Selected publications
*References
Bibliography
* Pagmenta, Frank (2009) ''The Aitons: Gardeners to their Majesties''. Richmond Local History Society. * *Further reading
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Aiton, William 1731 births 1793 deaths 18th-century British botanists 18th-century Scottish scientists Botanists with author abbreviations British horticulturists British pteridologists Burials at St. Anne's Church, Kew Museum founders People from South Lanarkshire Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew Scottish botanists Scottish gardeners Taxon authorities of Hypericum species 18th-century philanthropists