William T. Stearn

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

William Stearn holding a specimen of the genus Epimedium, a subject of much of his later work.
William Stearn holding a specimen of the genus Epimedium, a subject of much of his later work.

William Thomas Stearn CBE (1911-2001) was a British botanist. He had a very high reputation as an expert on the history of botany and in the classical languages. His work is quite widely read, with his etymological dictionary of Latin names of garden plants likely the best-known of the works appearing under his own name. Among botanists his Botanical Latin, now in its fourth edition (1995), is a standard reference.

He was President of the Linnean Society, and in 1976 was awarded their Gold Medal (now the Linnean medal) and in 1993 the Engler medal in gold. He was also the recipient of the Asa Gray Award in 2000, the highest honor of the American Society of Plant Taxonomists. At the time of his death he rated an obituary in the Daily Telegraph, in the Guardian and in the Times. Also see this notice at Kew.

[edit] Bibliography (incomplete)

  • The Art of Botanical Illustration (1950, with Wilfrid Blunt)
  • Botanical Latin (four editions, 1966-92)
  • The Natural History Museum at South Kensington (1981)
The standard author abbreviation Stearn is used to indicate this individual as the author when citing a botanical name.[1]
This article about a British scientist is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.
 This article about a botanist is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.