Peter MacOwan (14 November 1830 in
Hull
Hull may refer to:
Structures
* Chassis, of an armored fighting vehicle
* Fuselage, of an aircraft
* Hull (botany), the outer covering of seeds
* Hull (watercraft), the body or frame of a ship
* Submarine hull
Mathematics
* Affine hull, in affi ...
, England – 30 November 1909 in
Uitenhage, Cape Province) was a British colonial
botanist and teacher in
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring count ...
.
Early life and education
He was the son of Peter McOwan, a
Wesleyan minister from Scotland. After finishing school he taught at
Bath
Bath may refer to:
* Bathing, immersion in a fluid
** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body
** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe
* Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities
Plac ...
,
Colchester and
Leeds
Leeds () is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the thi ...
, and in 1857 taught chemistry at the
Huddersfield
Huddersfield is a market town in the Kirklees district in West Yorkshire, England. It is the administrative centre and largest settlement in the Kirklees district. The town is in the foothills of the Pennines. The River Holme's confluence into t ...
College Laboratory. That same year he graduated in chemistry from the
University of London, becoming professor of chemistry at Huddersfield.
Botanical work
The year before, he married Amelia Day from Bristol. A severe lung condition, possibly asthma, caused him to move to South Africa and take up the post of principal at the newly established Shaw College in
Grahamstown. His health rapidly improved and leaving chemistry behind he resumed studying botany in which he had become interested while still in England, having started a collection of flowers and mosses. This interest was furthered by his association with Dr
William Guybon Atherstone, Henry Hutton and Mrs.
FW Barber. He entered into a fruitful exchange of specimens and correspondence with
Asa Gray of the States, Sir
William Hooker of Kew and with
Harvey and
Sonder who were working on the ''Flora Capensis''. Finding it a drain on his own time to supply duplicates to overseas collectors, he formed the South African Botanical Exchange Society, which brought together a large number of amateur botanists. By 1868 roughly 9000 duplicates had been sent abroad, for which in return they received specimens from Europe, North America and Australia. His contributions are acknowledged in the introductions to ''Flora Capensis''. He assisted Atherstone and HG Galpin in confirming in 1867 that the
Hopetown or
Eureka Diamond was indeed a diamond. Eventually he became head of natural sciences at
Gill College,
Somerset East
Somerset East ( af, Somerset-Oos) is a town in the Blue Crane Route Local Municipality in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. It was founded by Lord Charles Somerset in 1825.
The Blue Crane Route follows the national road R63 from Pearston, via ...
, South Africa and then later director of the Cape Town Botanical Garden. During his time in Cape Town he collated specimens that Henry Flanagan from
Kouga sent him. He was also the curator of the Cape Government Herbarium. Peter MacOwan's daughter Flora married
Selmar Schonland in 1896.
Plant pathology as a science in South Africa formally began in 1887 with the appointment of Peter MacOwan as the consultant in economic botany to the Cape Government.
''The South African National Collection of Fungi: celebrating a centenary 1905-2005''
Publications
*
See also
References
*
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External links
*
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- plant named after Peter MacOwan
{{DEFAULTSORT:Macowan, Peter
Plant collectors
Botanists active in Africa
English botanists
British botanists
Alumni of the University of London
1830 births
1909 deaths
English people of Scottish descent