Person Prain; Sir; David (1857 - 1944); botanist Prain David Sir botanist 1857 - 1944 British Male Fettercairn, Kincardineshire, Scotland 11 July 1857 18570711 Well Farm, Godstone Road, Whyteleafe, Surrey, England 16/03/1944 19440316 Burial: Putney Vale cemetery (21 July 1944)

Botanist Botany Education: Fettercairn parish school; Aberdeen grammar school; University of Aberdeen MA (1878), MB and CM (1883); LRCS (Edinburgh) (1883) Career: Persuaded by his Aberdeen mentor, Pofessor James William Helenus Trail (FRS 1893) to seek admission to the Indian Medical Service in the expectation of opportunities to transfer to botanical research, and was accepted (1884); went to India where he served in military hospitals except for a few months in 1885 when he temporarily filled the post of curator of the herbarium at the Royal Botanic Garden, Calcutta (1885-1887); recalled to the same position in the garden under Sir George King, the then superintendent (1887); his demonstrable interest in economic botany resulted in the government of Bengal requesting for him to submit a report on Indian hemp, which was followed by other official investigations on wheat, mustards, pulses, and indigo; replaced Sir George King as professor of botany at the medical college of Calcutta (1895); succeeded King as the director of botanic garden and of the botanical survey of India (1898); as botanist on Sir Francis Younghusband's Sikkim–Tibet boundary commission, he had the opportunity to collect plants on the Tibetan plateau (1903); travelling through the Indian subcontinent, Burma, Ceylon, and the Andaman and Nicobar islands expanded his knowledge of the Indian flora which he reviewed in articles in Annals of the Royal Botanic Garden, Calcutta and Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, with Bengal Plants, published at his own expense, describing nearly 3000 species (19030; retired from Indian service with the rank of lieutenant-colonel (1905); succeeded Sir William Thiselton-Dyer (FRS 1880) as director of the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew (1905); during his term of office a medicinal garden was formed in the grounds of Cambridge Cottage, a large tank for aquatic plants was installed, and the Japanese gateway, made for the Japan–British exhibition was acquired (1910); Cambridge Cottage was converted into a museum of British forestry and timbers (1910); devoted to editorial duties at Kew, reviving the Kew Bulletin which had been languishing for a number of years; abandoned the practice of the Index Kewensis in making taxonomic judgements regarding synonymy; he edited Curtis's Botanical Magazine and Hooker's Icones plantarum; he collaborated with I. H. Burkill in An Account of the Genus Dioscorea in the East (1936); and he contributed to the Flora Capensis and Flora of Tropical Africa; retired (1922); died at home (1944). Honours: CIE (1906); CMG (1912); Kt (1912) ; Swedish order of the Pole Star (1908); commander of the Belgian order of Leopold II (1919); LLD Aberdeen (1900) and St Andrews (1911); Memberships: FRSE; FLS (President 1916–19); Chairman of Council of the John Innes Horticultural Institution (1909); Royal Horticultural Society (VP 1919); trustee of the British Museum (1924–36); President, Imperial Botanical Conference (1924); British Association (Council 1907–14; VP 1931; president of the botany section in 1909); Awards/Medals: Linnean medal (1935) Victoria medal of honour (1912) Albert medal (1925) Veitch memorial medal (1933) Parents: David Prain, a native of Inchture near Dundee, and Mary, daughter of George Thomson, farmer and miller, of the Vale of Alford, Aberdeenshire. Spouse: Margaret Caird (d. 1942), daughter of the Revd William Thomson, of Belhevie, Aberdeen (1887). Children: Theodore Prain, killed in the First World War whilst serving as a lieutenant in the Leicestershire Regiment. Royal Society roles: Treas 1919-1929; VP 1919-1929 Fellow 11/05/1905 Sources: Bulloch's Roll; DNB Obituaries: Obituary Notices of Fellows of the Royal Society 1942-1944 vol 4 pp 747-770, plate, by I H Burkill References: A G Cock, 'Chauvinism and Internationalism in Science: The International Research Council, 1919-1926' in NR 1982-83 vol 37 pp 249-288 Prain, D GA Russell 003642.jpg ©Godfrey Argent Studio 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 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsbm.1944.0020 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/action/doSearch?ContribAuthorRaw=Prain%2C+David RCN 59604 RCN 59603 RCN 30376 https://pictures.royalsociety.org/results?mi_search_type=adv&mi_adv_search=yes&adv_person_id=AUTH6900 https://pictures.royalsociety.org/image-rs-14098 11 Jul 1857 - 16 Mar 1944 The past Fellows entries are under continuous revision. If you have queries or additional information to contribute, please contact Library@royalsociety.org. Content in external sources is not controlled by the Royal Society and historical sources may include content that is now unacceptable. Reviewed on 06/03/2024 as part of the Name Authority Project update. NA8273 21/11/2001 Andyg Pmab 17/03/2026 RS_NET\VirginiaM Yes http://viaf.org/viaf/94291 0339c217-4c35-4e0a-a95f-a2e9588f5d7d