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George Richardson Proctor OD (1920–2015) was an American
botanist Botany, also called plant science, is the branch of natural science and biology studying plants, especially Plant anatomy, their anatomy, Plant taxonomy, taxonomy, and Plant ecology, ecology. A botanist or plant scientist is a scientist who s ...
and expert on
Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...
n flora. He wrote widely on the topic, publishing ''Flora of the Cayman Islands'', and collected over 55,000 specimens from 50 different islands in the
Caribbean The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...
. He was considered one of the "four horsemen" of
taxonomy image:Hierarchical clustering diagram.png, 280px, Generalized scheme of taxonomy Taxonomy is a practice and science concerned with classification or categorization. Typically, there are two parts to it: the development of an underlying scheme o ...
in the
West Indies The West Indies is an island subregion of the Americas, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, which comprises 13 independent island country, island countries and 19 dependent territory, dependencies in thr ...
and Caribbean. Thirty-one species were named in his honor, including '' Coccothrinax proctorii''. Late in his life Proctor was arrested for a conspiracy to murder his wife at the age of 86, and in 2010 at the age of 90, was sentenced to four years in prison. Proctor was released after two, spending the rest of his life in the United States.


Biography

George Richardson Proctor was born in 1920 in
Boston, Massachusetts Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
. He received a
PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...
from the
University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...
after
World War II 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 ...
. While in college, from 1946 to 1947, Proctor worked at the
Academy of Natural Sciences The Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University, formerly the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, is the oldest natural science research institution and museum in the Americas. It was founded in 1812, by many of the leading natur ...
in Philadelphia. He was first published at the age of 19. In 1948, he traveled to the Caribbean on the Catherwood-Chaplin West Indies Expedition. He was influenced by
William Ralph Maxon William Ralph Maxon, (February 27, 1877 – February 25, 1948) was an American botanist and pteridologist. He graduated from Syracuse University with a Bachelor of Philosophy, B.Ph. in biology, in 1898, and spent about one year at Columbia Univers ...
. Proctor moved to Jamaica in 1949 to work on a book about the island's ferns begun by
William Ralph Maxon William Ralph Maxon, (February 27, 1877 – February 25, 1948) was an American botanist and pteridologist. He graduated from Syracuse University with a Bachelor of Philosophy, B.Ph. in biology, in 1898, and spent about one year at Columbia Univers ...
. He worked at the
Institute of Jamaica The Institute of Jamaica (IOJ), founded in 1879, is the country's most significant cultural, artistic and scientific organisation:herbarium A herbarium (plural: herbaria) is a collection of preserved plant biological specimen, specimens and associated data used for scientific study. The specimens may be whole plants or plant parts; these will usually be in dried form mounted on a sh ...
and rising to be head of the Natural History Division. From 1982 to 1983 he was herbarium supervisor at the National Botanic Garden in
Santo Domingo Santo Domingo, formerly known as Santo Domingo de Guzmán, is the capital and largest city of the Dominican Republic and the List of metropolitan areas in the Caribbean, largest metropolitan area in the Caribbean by population. the Distrito Na ...
,
Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. It shares a Maritime boundary, maritime border with Puerto Rico to the east and ...
, and from 1983 to 1998 at the
Puerto Rico Department of Natural and Environmental Resources The Puerto Rico Department of Natural and Environmental Resources (PRDNER) () is the executive department of the government of Puerto Rico tasked with protecting, conserving, developing, and managing the natural and environmental resources in P ...
as director of the herbarium. He then worked as a biologist at the
University of the West Indies The University of the West Indies (UWI), originally University College of the West Indies, is a public university system established to serve the higher education needs of the residents of 18 English-speaking countries and territories in t ...
in Jamaica. Proctor traveled to over 50 Caribbean islands, collecting over 55,000 specimens, and authored or co-authored numerous books about Caribbean flora. In 1976 he was awarded the
Musgrave Medal The Musgrave Medal is an annual award by the Institute of Jamaica in recognition of achievement in art, science, and literature.Webster, Valerie J. (2000), ''Awards, Honors & Prizes, Volume 2'', Gale Group, , p. 447. Originally conceived in 1889 ...
and
Order of Distinction The Order of Distinction (OD) is a national order in the Jamaican honours system. It is the sixth in order of precedence of the Orders of Societies of Honour, which were instituted by an Act of Parliament (''The National Honours and Awards Ac ...
, and honorary degrees from
Florida International University Florida International University (FIU) is a public research university with its main campus in Westchester, Florida, United States. Founded in 1965 by the Florida Legislature, the school opened to students in 1972. FIU is the third-largest univ ...
(1978) and the University of the West Indies (2004).


Murder conspiracy

Proctor and his driver Glenford Fellington were arrested for a conspiracy to murder his wife on April 20, 2006, at
Norman Manley International Airport Norman Manley International Airport , formerly Palisadoes Airport, is an international airport serving Kingston, Jamaica, and is located south of the island away from the centre of New Kingston. It is the second busiest airport in the country ...
as they were about to board a plane to the United States. He was 86 at the time, denied bail, and sentenced in February 2010 to four years in prison. Proctor was allegedly unhappy with the marriage. In October 2012 he was released due to his poor health, and traveled to Boston. Proctor died on October 12, 2015, in
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
at the age of 95.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Proctor, George R. 1920 births 2015 deaths Scientists from Boston Botanists active in the Caribbean University of Pennsylvania alumni American people convicted of attempted murder 20th-century American botanists Recipients of the Musgrave Medal Recipients of the Order of Distinction American expatriates in the Dominican Republic Pteridologists