David Don
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David Don (21 December 1799 - 15 December 1841) was an English botanist, Professor of Botany at King's College London from 1836–1841, and librarian at the Linnean Society of London from 1822–1841.
He described several of the major conifers discovered in the period, including first descriptions of Coast Redwood (Taxodium sempervirens D. Don; now Sequoia sempervirens (D. Don) Endlicher), Bristlecone Fir (Pinus bracteata D. Don, now Abies bracteata (D. Don) A. Poit.), Grand Fir (Pinus grandis Douglas ex D. Don; now Abies grandis (Douglas ex D. Don) Lindl.) and Coulter Pine (Pinus coulteri D. Don), and was the first to treat Sugi (Cupressus japonica Thunberg; now Cryptomeria japonica (Thunberg) D. Don) in a new genus.
He also named the orchid genus Pleione in 1825.
David Don was librarian to the botanist Aylmer Bourke Lambert and compiled for him, Prodromus florae nepalensis ... London, J. Gale, 1825, based on collections made by the botanists Francis Hamilton and Nathaniel Wallich of the Calcutta Botanic Garden.
