William Masters (1796–1874) FHS was an English nurseryman, garden designer, and amateur botanist. Born at

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. ...

on 7 July 1796, he founded a nursery in St. Peter's St., Canterbury, initially known as St Peter's Nursery Ground (Kent Gazette 1816), later as Master's Botanical Garden and Nursery Ground (Stapleton's Directory 1838), and later still as Master's Exotic Nursery.Canterbury-archaeology.org.uk
/ref> Masters specialized in the cultivation of exotic plants, and experimental hybridizations. He also founded the Canterbury Museum, of which he was Hon. Curator from 1823 to 1846. Masters replanted much of the

Dane John Gardens The Dane John Mound, also known as the Dane John Gardens, is a former Roman cemetery in the city of Canterbury, Kent. It was converted into a motte-and-bailey castle in the 11th century, and turned into a civic park between 1790 and 1803. History ...

in Canterbury with stock donated from his nursery, and also designed several of the terraces in the middle of the formal garden at

Walmer Castle Walmer Castle is an artillery fort originally constructed by Henry VIII of England, Henry VIII in Walmer, Kent, between 1539 and 1540. It formed part of the King's Device Forts, Device programme to protect against invasion from France and the H ...

. However, Masters is chiefly remembered for his catalogue ''Hortus duroverni'' of 1831, which comprehensively listed and classified many seeds and plants. Desmond, R. (1994). ''Dictionary of British & Irish Botanists & Horticulturists'', p.475. Taylor & Francis, and

Natural History Museum A natural history museum or museum of natural history is a scientific institution with natural history collections that include current and historical records of animals, plants, fungi, ecosystems, geology, paleontology, climatology, and more. ...

, London. One of his introductions, the elm cultivar ''Ulmus'' × ''hollandica'' 'Superba', commonly known as the Canterbury Elm, became very popular as a street tree, notably in Germany, where it was propagated by the

Spath nursery Spath, is a small village north of Uttoxeter, Staffordshire, England. For population details as taken at the 2011 census see Uttoxeter Rural. Spath is on the River Tean and is divided from Uttoxeter by the A50 road. In UK railway history, Spat ...

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

. Masters' sons William Arthur (1820–1847) and Maxwell Tylden (1837–1907) had distinguished careers in biology; William Jnr. became Curator of the

Museum of Anatomy and Natural History A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make these ...

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public research university located in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of King George IV and the Duke of Wellington. In 1836, King's ...

, while Maxwell was elected 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 science, natural knowledge, incl ...

and Member 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 ...

, and lectured in botany at

St. George's Hospital St George's Hospital is a large teaching hospital in Tooting, London. Founded in 1733, it is one of the UK's largest teaching hospitals and one of the largest hospitals in Europe. It is run by the St George's University Hospitals NHS Foundatio ...

. William Masters died aged 78 at Canterbury on 26 September 1874.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Masters, William (botanist) 1796 births 1874 deaths British botanists