William Aiton

William Aiton
ملف:William Aiton.jpg
وُلِدَ1731
Hamilton, Scotland
توفي2 فبراير 1793(1793-02-02) (aged 61–62)
Kew, England
المثوىSt. Anne's Church, Kew, England
عـُرِف بـDirector of Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
الأنجالWilliam Townsend Aiton
السيرة العلمية
المجالاتBotany
Author abbrev. (botany)Aiton

William Aiton (1731 – 2 February 1793) was a Scottish botanist.[1]

ملف:Kew, St Anne's Churchyard, The Aiton family tomb.jpg
The Aiton family tomb

Aiton was born near Hamilton. Having been regularly trained to the profession of a gardener, he travelled to London 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, a catalogue of the plants cultivated there.[2][3] 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.[2]

Aiton is commemorated in the specific epithet aitonis.[4]

In 1789, he classified the Sampaguita plant to the Jasminium genus and also named it as Arabian Jasmine because it was believed that the plant originated from The Arabian Peninsula[5] although the plant didn't originate from Arabia.

Selected publications

  • Aiton, W. (1789). Hortus Kewensis. London: George Nicol.

References

  1. ^ "William Aiton from The Gazetteer for Scotland". www.scottish-places.info (in الإنجليزية البريطانية).
  2. ^ أ ب  One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domainChisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Aiton, William" . دائرة المعارف البريطانية. Vol. 1 (eleventh ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 448. {{cite encyclopedia}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  3. ^ Aiton 1789.
  4. ^ Eggli, Urs; Newton, Leonard E. (2004). Etymological Dictionary of Succulent Plant Names. Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer. p. 4. ISBN 978-3-540-00489-9. Retrieved 10 نوفمبر 2018.
  5. ^ "Study of the Sampaguita Flower - The National Pride of Philippines". Gardenerdy (in الإنجليزية الأمريكية). 9 مارس 2009. Retrieved 25 مارس 2021.

Bibliography

Further reading

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قالب:Directors of Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew