Frederick Whalley Sansome

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

FRSE Fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE) is an award granted to individuals that the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Scotland's national academy of science and Literature, letters, judged to be "eminently distinguished in their subject". ...

FLS (1902–1981) was a 20th-century British botanist who spent most of his later professional life teaching in Africa.

Life

He was born in Edinburgh on 27 February 1902 the son of Alfred Woodrow Sansome, a draper in F S Sansome & Son at 32 Queensferry Street, and his wife Kate Elizabeth Whalley. The family lived at 21 Merchiston Crescent, a flat in the

Bruntsfield Bruntsfield is a largely residential area around Bruntsfield Place in Southern Edinburgh, Scotland. In feudal times, it fell within the barony of Colinton. Location Bruntsfield Place is less than south on the A702 road (Great Britain), A70 ...

district. By 1910 they had moved to a larger house, an end-terraced villa at 2 Cluny Place in the south of the city. He was educated in Edinburgh then studied Botany at

Edinburgh University The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the town council under the authority of a royal charter from King James VI in 1582 and offi ...

graduating BSc then continuing as a postgraduate and gaining a doctorate (PhD). In 1923 he began work as an assistant at the Plant Breeding Station in Edinburgh under the directorship of J M F Drummond. from there he obtained a post as Assistant Lecturer in Botany at

Glasgow University The University of Glasgow (abbreviated as ''Glas.'' in post-nominals; ) is a public research university in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded by papal bull in , it is the fourth-oldest university in the English-speaking world and one of Scotland's four ...

. He then became Senior Lecturer in

Horticulture Horticulture (from ) is the art and science of growing fruits, vegetables, flowers, trees, shrubs and ornamental plants. Horticulture is commonly associated with the more professional and technical aspects of plant cultivation on a smaller and mo ...

Manchester University The University of Manchester is a public university, public research university in Manchester, England. The main campus is south of Manchester city centre, Manchester City Centre on Wilmslow Road, Oxford Road. The University of Manchester is c ...

. In 1930 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 Montagu Frank Drummond,

William Wright Smith Sir William Wright Smith (2 February 1875 Lochmaben, Dumfriesshire – 15 December 1956) was a Scottish botanist and horticulturalist. Life He was born at Parkend farm near Lochmaben in Dumfriesshire, the son of James T. Smith, a farmer. He was ...

James Robert Matthews James Robert Matthews FRSE FLS CBE LLD (1889–1978) was a Scottish botanist. He was president of the British Ecological Society in 1934 and president of the Botanical Society of Edinburgh 1939 to 1942. Life He was born in the village of Dunni ...

, Sir

John Graham Kerr Sir John Graham Kerr (18 September 1869 – 21 April 1957), known to his friends as Graham Kerr, was a British embryologist and Unionist Member of Parliament (MP). He is best known for his studies of the embryology of lungfishes. He was invol ...

and Samuel Williams. In 1948 he left Britain for more novel employment, accepting a professorship at University College in

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

. In 1958 he transferred to the

University of Ghana The University of Ghana is a public university located in Accra, Ghana. It is the oldest public university in the country. The university was founded in 1948 as the University College of the Gold Coast in the British colony of the Gold Coast ...

. Finally, from 1962 until retiral in 1967, he was at

Ahmadu Bello University The Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) is a public research university located in Zaria, Nigeria, Zaria, Kaduna State, Nigeria. It was opened in 1962 as the University of Northern Nigeria. The university has four colleges, three schools, 18 faculties, ...

Zaria Zaria is a List of Nigerian cities by population, metropolitan city in Nigeria, located at present time within four local government areas in Kaduna State. It serves as the capital of the Zazzau Emirate Council and is one of the original sev ...

. Although he was of retiral age, his decision to leave was further precipitated by the

Biafran War The Nigerian Civil War (6 July 1967 – 15 January 1970), also known as the Biafran War, Nigeria-Biafra War, or Biafra War, was fought between Nigeria and the Republic of Biafra, a secessionist state which had declared its independence from N ...

. He died in

Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...

on 26 March 1981.

Family

In 1929 he married mycologist Eva Richardson FLS (1906-2001).

Publications

*''Natural Selection of Drosophila'' *''Botany in

'' *''Recent Advances in Plant Genetics'' (1934)

References

1902 births 1981 deaths Scientists from Edinburgh Alumni of the University of Edinburgh British botanists Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Academic staff of the University of Ghana Academic staff of Ahmadu Bello University Commanders_of_the_Order_of_the_British_Empire {{UK-botanist-stub