Person Houstoun; William (c 1695 - 1733) Houstoun William Houston c 1695 - 1733 British Male Houston, Scotland c 1695 Jamaica, West Indies 14 August 1733 Burial: Kingston, Jamaica (14 August 1733)

Physician Botany Medicine Education: Began a degree in medicine at St Andrew's University (1719) which he never completed; carried out experiments on animal respiration; MD (1729, Leyden) Career: While in the Netherlands became interested in the use of newly discovered plants for medicinal purposes; employed as a ship's surgeon for the South Sea Company; travelled to Central America and to the West Indies, collected specimens many of which were unknown in Europe at the time. Visited Jamaica, Cuba, Venezuela and Vera Cruz; sent home seeds to Philip Miller, head gardener of Chelsea; Cinchoneaceae Houstonia was named after him. Returned to London in 1731, where he was introduced to Sir Hans Sloane by Miller. Commissioned by Sloane to undertake another journey to collect specimens, this time financed by the Trustees for the Province of Georgia in America, who wanted Houston to stock the garden they had planned for Savannah, Georgia. Travelled first to Madeira islands to gather grape plants, then to the Caribbean. Expedition never completed as he died from the heat of Jamaica in 1733, shortly after arriving there. Houstoun's specimens, manuscripts and drawings were eventually returned and can be found in the Natural History Museum. The South Sea Company (officially The Governor and Company of the merchants of Great Britain, trading to the South Seas and other parts of America, and for the encouragement of the Fishery) was a British joint-stock company founded in 1711, created as a public-private partnership to consolidate and reduce the cost of the national debt. To generate income, in 1713 the company was granted a monopoly (the Asiento) to supply enslaved Africans to the islands in the 'South Seas' and South America. Company stock rose greatly in value as it expanded its operations dealing in government debt, and peaked in 1720 before suddenly collapsing to little above its original flotation price. The notorious economic bubble thus created, which ruined thousands of investors, became known as the South Sea Bubble. Fellow 18/01/1733 Sources: Bulloch's Roll; DNB Authority: Altname from DNB Notes: No portrait of him known to exist International Standard Archival Authority Record for Corporate Bodies, Persons and Families - ISAAR(CPF) - Ottawa 1996 ISBN 0-9696035-3-3 National Council on Archives, Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names, 1997 c 1695 - 14 Aug 1733 NA3050 21/11/2001 Andyg Pmab 28/03/2023 RS_NET\JonathanB yes http://viaf.org/viaf/35393071 1ded781c-97e6-4508-a70a-93f81ded531d