Harry Marshall Ward (21 March 1854 – 26 August 1906), FRS, , was a British

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 ...

mycologist Mycology is the branch of biology concerned with the study of fungi, including their taxonomy, genetics, biochemical properties, and use by humans. Fungi can be a source of tinder, food, traditional medicine, as well as entheogens, poison, and ...

, and

plant pathologist Plant pathology or phytopathology is the scientific study of plant diseases caused by pathogens (infectious organisms) and environmental conditions (physiological factors). Plant pathology involves the study of pathogen identification, disease ...

. He was one of the first scientists to study physiological plant pathology Born in

Hereford Hereford ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of the ceremonial county of Herefordshire, England. It is on the banks of the River Wye and lies east of the border with Wales, north-west of Gloucester and south-west of Worcester. With ...

, the eldest child of

Francis Francis may refer to: People and characters *Pope Francis, head of the Catholic Church (2013–2025) *Francis (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Francis (surname) * Francis, a character played by YouTuber Boogie2 ...

and Mary Marshall Ward, Harry Ward was educated at

Lincoln Cathedral Lincoln Cathedral, also called Lincoln Minster, and formally the Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Lincoln, is a Church of England cathedral in Lincoln, England, Lincoln, England. It is the seat of the bishop of Lincoln and is the Mo ...

school. from c. 1864. He went on to scientific studies at the South Kensington

Science and Art Department The Science and Art Department was a British government body which functioned from 1853 to 1899, promoting education in art, science, technology, and design in Britain and Ireland. Background The Science and Art Department was created as a subdi ...

under

Thomas Henry Huxley Thomas Henry Huxley (4 May 1825 – 29 June 1895) was an English biologist and anthropologist who specialized in comparative anatomy. He has become known as "Darwin's Bulldog" for his advocacy of Charles Darwin's theory of evolution. The stor ...

in 1874. Ward then attended first

Owens College Owens may refer to: Places in the United States * Owens Station, Delaware * Owens Township, St. Louis County, Minnesota * Owens, Missouri * Owens, Ohio * Owens, Texas * Owens, Virginia People * Owens (surname), including a list of people with ...

, Manchester, in 1875, and subsequently

Christ's College, Cambridge Christ's College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. The college includes the Master, the Fellows of the College, and about 450 undergraduate and 250 graduate students. The c ...

, from 1876 to 1879. At Cambridge, Ward achieved a B.A. with First Class honours in the

Natural Sciences Tripos The Natural Sciences Tripos is the framework within which most of the science at the University of Cambridge is taught. The tripos includes a wide range of Natural Sciences from physics, astronomy, and geoscience, to chemistry and biology, whi ...

. Ward's education at Cambridge was funded by a wealthy fellow student from South Kensington, Louis Lucas. He also studied with leading German botanists

Julius von Sachs Julius von Sachs (; 2 October 1832 – 29 May 1897) was a German botanist from Breslau, Prussian Silesia. He is considered the founder of experimental plant physiology and co-founder of modern water culture. Julius von Sachs and Wilhelm Knop a ...

and

Anton de Bary Heinrich Anton de Bary (26 January 183119 January 1888) was a German surgeon, botanist, microbiologist, and mycologist (fungal systematics and physiology). He is considered a founding father of plant pathology (phytopathology) as well as the foun ...

who at the time were way ahead of the English in the field of experimental botany. From early 1880 until 1882, Ward was employed by the British government in

Ceylon Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

(modern Sri Lanka) to study the

coffee rust ''Hemileia vastatrix'' is a multicellular Basidiomycota, basidiomycete fungus of the order Pucciniales (previously also known as Uredinales) that causes coffee leaf rust (CLR), a disease affecting the Coffea, coffee plant. Coffee serves as t ...

disease affecting the island's coffee plantations. His detailed and methodical work established his reputation as a

and

physiologist Physiology (; ) is the scientific study of functions and mechanisms in a living system. As a subdiscipline of biology, physiology focuses on how organisms, organ systems, individual organs, cells, and biomolecules carry out chemical and ...

and although he was unable to stop the rust in the coffee plantations of Ceylon he laid the foundations for solving the problem in the future. Ward recommended avoiding

monoculture In agriculture, monoculture is the practice of growing one crop species in a field at a time. Monocultures increase ease and efficiency in planting, managing, and harvesting crops short-term, often with the help of machinery. However, monocultur ...

, and the cultivation of multiple strains of coffee. Ward demonstrated that disease

spores In biology, a spore is a unit of sexual (in fungi) or asexual reproduction that may be adapted for dispersal and for survival, often for extended periods of time, in unfavourable conditions. Spores form part of the life cycles of many plant ...

could be spread on the wind and recommended growing trees between plantations to reduce this. However plantation owners in Ceylon had already destroyed many indigenous species on their plantations and planted a single type of coffee on almost every available acre. In 1883 Ward returned to Owens College as an assistant lecturer, and married his very patient fiancée Selina Mary Kingdon, who had been waiting for him since around 1870. Their first child was a daughter Winifred Mary Ward born October 1884, and on 6 November 1885 they had a son Francis Kingdon Ward. In 1885 shortly after the birth of his son he was appointed Professor of botany at the Royal Indian engineering college (Forestry department) at Cooper's hill, now part of

Brunel University Brunel University of London (BUL) is a public research university located in the Uxbridge area of London, England. It is named after Isambard Kingdom Brunel, a Victorian engineer and pioneer of the Industrial Revolution. It became a university ...

. He moved with his new family into a house at

Englefield Green Englefield Green is a large village in the Borough of Runnymede, Surrey, England, approximately west of central London. It is home to Runnymede Meadow, The Commonwealth Air Forces Memorial, The Savill Garden,and Royal Holloway, University of L ...

. He became F.L.S. (Fellow of the

Linnaean Society The Linnean Society of London is a learned society dedicated to the study and dissemination of information concerning natural history, evolution, and taxonomy. It possesses several important biological specimen, manuscript and literature collec ...

) in 1886 F.R.H.S. (

fellow A fellow is a title and form of address for distinguished, learned, or skilled individuals in academia, medicine, research, and industry. The exact meaning of the term differs in each field. In learned society, learned or professional society, p ...

of the

Royal Horticultural Society The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity. The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr ...

) in 1887 and F.R.S. (Fellow of the

Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...

) in 1889. He was president of the British Mycological Society in 1900 and 1901. A great deal of his work and study was influenced by one of his early tutors, W.T. Thiselton-Dyer. It was Thiselton Dyer who suggested him for the job in Ceylon, he who largely got him his first post at Owen's College. Dyer persuaded him to spend time researching the biological processes involved in brewing

ginger beer Traditional ginger beer is a sweetened and carbonated, usually non-alcoholic beverage. Historically it was produced by the natural fermentation of prepared ginger spice, yeast and sugar. Modern ginger beers are often mass production, manufactur ...

, and helped ensure his entry to the Linnaean society, his signature was on a letter to the prime minister of the day

H. H. Asquith Herbert Henry Asquith, 1st Earl of Oxford and Asquith (12 September 1852 – 15 February 1928) was a British statesman and Liberal Party (UK), Liberal politician who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1908 to 1916. He was the last ...

recommending a pension should be paid to his widow, Selina after his death. In 1895 he became Professor of Botany at Cambridge University, his alma mater. There was a tremendous amount of work to do with the department which had been neglected by previous incumbents. Ward worked tirelessly to get the teaching and the facilities up to scratch. His efforts culminated in a complete new building designed and equipped to his own requirements. The building was opened on 1 March 1904 by

King Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910. The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria and ...

and

Queen Alexandra Alexandra of Denmark (Alexandra Caroline Marie Charlotte Louise Julia; 1 December 1844 – 20 November 1925) was List of British royal consorts, queen-consort of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Empress of India, from 22 Januar ...

. There was a seven course lunch for the King and Queen and a select guest list included Thiselton Dyer. Meanwhile, he was gaining more honours and positions on committees while still researching, teaching, and administrating. All this work took its toll on his health. He was weakened further by diabetes. He died on 26 August 1906 aged only 52. He is buried in the Parish of the Ascension Burial Ground in Cambridge, with his wife; his friend Sir

Francis Darwin Sir Francis Darwin (16 August 1848 – 19 September 1925) was a British botanist. He was the third son of the naturalist and scientist Charles Darwin. Biography Francis Darwin was born at Down House, Downe, Kent in 1848. He was the third s ...

is also buried there.

References

External links

* *
William Thiselton-Dyer at RBGK.
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ward, Harry Marshall 1854 births 1906 deaths People from Hereford British mycologists Fellows of the Linnean Society of London British phytopathologists Fellows of the Royal Society Royal Medal winners Professors of Botany (Cambridge) British botanists Alumni of Christ's College, Cambridge Fellows of the Royal Horticultural Society People educated at Lincoln Minster School Presidents of the British Mycological Society Burials in Cambridgeshire Presidents of the Cambridge Philosophical Society