Nicol (or Nicholas) Alexander Dalzell FRSE FLS (21 April 1817 – 18 December 1877) was a Scottish botanist. He was one of the first persons to form the link between forest denudation and the impact of rainfall upon the wider countryside.

Life

Born in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

, his early education was at the High School in Edinburgh. Dalzell studied divinity (rather than botany) at university, under Rev

Thomas Chalmers Thomas Chalmers (17 March 178031 May 1847), was a Scottish minister, professor of theology, political economist, and a leader of both the Church of Scotland and of the Free Church of Scotland. He has been called "Scotland's greatest nine ...

, and received an

M.A. A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

in 1837. He served as the assistant commissioner of customs, salt and opium in

Bombay Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second-m ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

in 1841. In 1862 he became conservator of forests in Bombay and superintendent of the Botanical Gardens in the Bombay Presidency. He published ''The Bombay Flora'' (1861), and other works on Indian botany, and retired in 1870. In 1862 he was elected a fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh his proposer being

John Hutton Balfour John Hutton Balfour (15 September 1808 – 11 February 1884) was a Scottish botanist. Balfour became a Professor of Botany, first at the University of Glasgow in 1841, moving to the University of Edinburgh and also becoming the 7th Regius Kee ...

. He lost his savings in the collapse of the Bank of Hindostan, China, and Japan. He retired in 1870 due to the ongoing effects of

malaria Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects humans and other animals. Malaria causes symptoms that typically include fever, tiredness, vomiting, and headaches. In severe cases, it can cause jaundice, seizures, coma, or death. S ...

and returned to Scotland. He died at home in Williamfield House, Portobello,

on 18 December 1877, leaving a widow (Emily Harriet Duthy) and six children, including Pulteney William Dalzell.

Legacy

A number of plant species are named for him, such as the grass, ''Ischaemum dalzelli''. Also a genus of flowering plants, '' Dalzellia'' from China, was also named after him, in 1852.

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