William Gardiner (botanist)
William Gardiner junior | |
|---|---|
| Born | 13 July 1808[1] |
| Died | 21 June 1852 (aged 43)[1] |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Botany, bryology. |
William Gardiner (1808-1852) was a Scottish umbrella maker, poet, and bryologist.[2]
Life[edit]
William Gardiner was born in Dundee, at Overgate, on the 13th of July 1808.[3] According to Lawley, his mother sold pottery, while his father, William senior, was a weaver, gardener, botanist and poet.[3] William junior's grandfather, James Gardiner, was also a weaver.[3] He received little education as a child, but learned how to read and write.[4]
At the age of 10, William was apprenticed to an umbrella-maker.[3][4] After completing his apprenticeship, he joined the business of a Mr George Robertson, another umbrella maker and hosier.[4] Umbrella-making became his primary source of income until the 1840s when he became a full-time plant collector.[2][5]
Wanting to continue his education, he took evening classes on botany.[3] He regularly visited natural localities around Dundee to fuel his botanical passion. This was early in the mornings or in the evening at the end of his workday.[4]
William Gardiner junior died on the 21st of June 1852 at the age of 43 after suffering a fever.[4]
Botany and bryology[edit]
The Botanical Society of Edinburgh employed Gardiner in 1838 to collect Alpine plants in Scotland.[3] Around this time, the Botanical Society of London also employed him as a plant collector.[3] In 1844 he left George Robertson's company and worked as a paid botanical collector, working for both institutions and individuals alike.[3]
According to Leisure & Culture Dundee, Sir William J Hooker offered Gardiner a botanical appointment, which he declined due to family commitments.[4]
In the United Kingdom, Gardiner's specimens are cared for at the Natural History Museum in London,[3] the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew Herbarium,[3] the Department of Biological Sciences,[3] Dundee University,[3] Hull University,[3] the Bromfield Herbarium,[3] and the Hancock Museum in Newcastle upon Tyne.[3] Elsewhere in the world, The University and Jepson Herbaria at the University of California, Berkeley,[3] the Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle[6] and the National Herbarium of Victoria, Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria also hold his specimens.[7]
Standard author abbreviation[edit]
The standard author abbreviation Gardiner is used to indicate this person as the author when citing a botanical name.[8]
Further reading[edit]
By William Gardiner[edit]
- Gems of Poesy Mar. 1834-Mar. 1836 Manuscript at the Dundee District Central Library, The Wellgate, D22012, Lamb Collection.
- The Wreathe of Wild Flowers Mar. 1834-Apr. 1836. Manuscript at the Dundee District Central Library, The Wellgate, D22011.
- To the Laced-winged Fly, poem read during a lecture ‘On the Transformation of Insects,’ given on March 9, 1836.
- Twenty Lessons on British Mosses ; Or First Steps to a Knowledge of that Beautiful Tribe of Plants. Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, 1847.
- Flora of Forfarshire. Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, 1848.
- Twenty Lessons on British Mosses: The Second Series. Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, 1849.
By others[edit]
- Amalia Diaz, Jessica Wigley, George Yatskievych. Integrating a historical and botanical work into modern collections and public platforms: The Flora of Forfarshire. Plant Resources Center, The University of Texas at Austin, 2017.
- Killian Dunne 48 right curly brackets taken from William Gardiner’s Herbarium volumes Made for the exhibition "Tales of The Unexpected", held at The Lamb Gallery from August - October 2022. Includes photographs from Gardiner's handwritten A selection of indigenous Scottish plants.
- Mark Lawley. A social and biographical history of British and Irish field bryologists: William Gardiner (1808-1852)
- Jessica Wigley. Flora of Forfarshire: Table with updated plant names, localities, coordinates, and links to the pages in the main book and supplementary volume.
Online bryological and herbarium resources[edit]
- Flora of Forfarshire Collections at the University of Texas Libraries.
- Charterhouse School Herbarium (GOD), University of California, Berkeley. Botanists: William Gardiner 1809-1852
- Herbaria @ Home Collector Search: William Gardiner
- Leisure & Culture Dundee William Gardiner: Botanist
- William Gardiner and the Flora of Forfarshire (Video)
- Bionomia profile.
References[edit]
- ^ a b "Mr William Gardiner Jnr (13/7/1808-21/6/1852)". Herbaria@Home. Botanical Society of the British Isles. Retrieved 22 February 2023.
- ^ a b Farley, Erin (3 June 2019). "The Poetry and Teachings of the Yellow Wall Lichen". British Association for Victorian Studies. Retrieved 22 February 2023.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Lawley, Mark. "WILLIAM GARDINER (1808-1852)" (PDF). British Bryological Society. Retrieved 22 February 2023.
- ^ a b c d e f "William Gardiner: Botanist". Leisure & Culture Dundee. Retrieved 22 February 2023.
- ^ "Flora of Forfarshire". University of Texas Libraries. Retrieved 22 February 2023.
- ^ "Collector's name: Gardiner, W". Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle. Retrieved 22 February 2023.
- ^ "Occurrence records". The Australasian Virtual Herbarium. Retrieved 22 February 2023.
- ^ International Plant Names Index. Gardiner.
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