George Henry Kendrick Thwaites

George Henry Kendrick Thwaites (1811, Bristol – 11 September 1882, Kandy) was an English botanist and entomologist.

Thwaites was initially an accountant and studied botany during his spare time. He was interested particularly in the lower plants such as the algae and the cryptogams. He become a recognized botanist when he showed that the diatoms are not animals, but algae. In 1846 he was lecturer on botany at the Bristol school of pharmacy and afterwards at the medical school. In March 1849, on the death of George Gardner, Thwaites was appointed superintendent of the botanical gardens at Peradeniya, Ceylon.

He was made a Fellow of the Royal Society on 1 June 1865 following the publication of his ‘Enumeratio Plantarum Zeylaniæ,’ – (five fasciculi 1859–64) His notes form the most valuable portion of Frederic Moore's ‘Lepidoptera of Ceylon’ (3 vols. 1880–9). He established the Cinehona nurseries, Hakgala, Ceylon and was in the Board of Directors of the Alfred Model Farm Experimental Station that later became the Royal Colombo Golf Course.[1]

The genera Thwaitesia and Kendrickia were named after him.

References

  1. The De Soyas of Alfred House by Rupa de Soysa, p.57 (Karunaratne & Sons)
  2. "Author Query for 'Thwaites'". International Plant Names Index.

External links

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