David Hugh Neven Spence (2 May 1925 – 23 April 1985) was a 20th-century Scottish botanist. In authorship he is known as David H. N. Spence or D. H. N. Spence.

Life

He was born on 2 May 1925 in

Sleaford Sleaford is a market town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in the North Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. On the edge of the The Fens, Fenlands, it is north-east of Grantham, west of Boston, Lincolnshire, Boston, and sou ...

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (), abbreviated ''Lincs'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands and Yorkshire and the Humber regions of England. It is bordered by the East Riding of Yorkshire across the Humber estuary to th ...

the son of Mary Joyce Mallorie Walton and her husband, Dr Thomas Reginald Cardwardine Spence MD. His family moved to

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

and he was educated at

Edinburgh Academy The Edinburgh Academy is a Private schools in the United Kingdom, private day school in Edinburgh, Scotland, which was opened in 1824. The original building, on Henderson Row in Stockbridge, Edinburgh, Stockbridge, is now part of the Senior Scho ...

1933 to 1935, then at

Clifton Hall School Clifton Hall School is an independent day school located near Newbridge in Edinburgh, Scotland. It is divided into the Nursery, Junior, and Senior Schools and educates pupils from nursery to Senior 6, ages 3-18. Buildings The school occupies ...

1935 to 1938 and finally at

Glenalmond College Glenalmond College is a co-educational independent boarding school in Perth and Kinross, Scotland, for children aged between 12 and 18 years. It is situated on the River Almond near the village of Methven, about west of the city of Perth. T ...

Perthshire Perthshire (Scottish English, locally: ; ), officially the County of Perth, is a Shires of Scotland, historic county and registration county in central Scotland. Geographically it extends from Strathmore, Angus and Perth & Kinross, Strathmore ...

1938 to 1942. In the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

he joined the

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

in the summer of 1942 and then was commissioned into the

Royal Scots The Royal Scots (The Royal Regiment), once known as the Royal Regiment of Foot, was the oldest and most senior infantry regiment line infantry, of the line of the British Army, having been raised in 1633 during the reign of Charles I of England ...

, serving in Germany in 1945. He was demobbed in 1946 and then studied botany at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...

graduating with a BSc in 1951. He began lecturing at the

University of Glasgow The University of Glasgow (abbreviated as ''Glas.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals; ) is a Public university, public research university in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded by papal bull in , it is the List of oldest universities in continuous ...

in 1952 and gained his doctorate (PhD) there in 1956. In 1957 he began lecturing in botany at the

University of St Andrews The University of St Andrews (, ; abbreviated as St And in post-nominals) is a public university in St Andrews, Scotland. It is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, oldest of the four ancient universities of Scotland and, f ...

. From 1962 to 1966 he had a prolonged secondment in

Makerere College Makerere University (; Mak) is Uganda's largest and oldest institution of higher learning, first established as a technical school in 1922, and the oldest currently active university in East Africa. It became an independent national university in ...

Uganda Uganda, officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the ...

. In 1968 he was elected a Fellow of the

Royal Society of Edinburgh The Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE) is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity that operates on a wholly independent and non-partisan basis and provides public benefit throughout Scotland. It was establis ...

. His proposers were James A. MacDonald,

John Harrison Burnett Sir John Harrison Burnett (21 January 1922 – 22 July 2007) was a British botanist and mycologist, who served as the principal and vice chancellor of Edinburgh University from 1979 to 1987. Early life and education Burnett was born in Ripo ...

, John Walton and Paul Weatherley. He was President of the

Botanical Society of Edinburgh Botany, also called plant science, is the branch of natural science and biology studying plants, especially their anatomy, taxonomy, and ecology. A botanist or plant scientist is a scientist who specialises in this field. "Plant" and "botany ...

. In 1977 he became Professor of Botany at the

. He died in

Dundee Dundee (; ; or , ) is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, fourth-largest city in Scotland. The mid-year population estimate for the locality was . It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firt ...

on 23 April 1985. He is buried in the St Andrews Western Cemetery on the Strathkinnes Road.

Family

In 1952 he married Dorothy Jean Halliday.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Spence, David Hugh Neven 1925 births 1985 deaths People from Lincolnshire People educated at Edinburgh Academy People educated at Clifton Hall School People educated at Glenalmond College Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Academics of the University of St Andrews Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland British Army personnel of World War II Royal Artillery soldiers Royal Scots officers 20th-century Scottish antiquarians Military personnel from Lincolnshire