Sir Peter Crane (born 18 July 1954) is the current president of the Oak Spring Garden Foundation and senior research scientist in the
School of Forestry and Environmental Studies
Yale School of the Environment (YSE) is a professional school of Yale University. It was founded to train foresters, and now trains environmental students through four 2-year degree programs ( Master of Environmental Management, Master of Environ ...
at
Yale University
Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...
. In addition to his work in leading and developing educational and natural history organizations, including the
Field Museum
The Field Museum of Natural History (FMNH), also known as The Field Museum, is a natural history museum in Chicago, Illinois, and is one of the largest such museums in the world. The museum is popular for the size and quality of its educationa ...
in Chicago and the
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew is a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom sponsored by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. An internationally important botanical research and education institution, it employs 1,10 ...
, he has had a long career as a professor and researcher in both the U.K. and the United States. He is best known for his work on the origin and early evolution of flowering plants (
angiosperms
Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed within a fruit. T ...
) based on studies of the plant fossil record. His popular writing includes ''Ginkgo: The Tree That Time Forgot'', a book that traces the evolution and cultural history of ''
Ginkgo biloba
''Ginkgo biloba'', commonly known as ginkgo or gingko ( ), also known as the maidenhair tree, is a species of gymnosperm tree native to East Asia. It is the last living species in the order Ginkgoales, which first appeared over 290 million year ...
'' to the present day.
Personal life and education
Peter Crane was born in
Kettering, Northamptonshire in the United Kingdom. He attended Kettering Grammar School where he developed a strong interest in local history and archaeology as well as plants, and the
University of Reading
The University of Reading is a public research university in Reading, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1892 as the University Extension College, Reading, an extension college of Christchurch College, Oxford, and became University College, ...
, where he received his B.Sc. in Botany, with honors, in 1975. He received his Ph.D. in Botany from Reading in 1981, having also served on the faculty there from 1978 with his thesis, "Studies on the Flora of the
Reading Beds (Upper Palaeocene)."
Crane is married with two children, a daughter and son.
Career
Peter Crane has held positions at the University of Reading (1978-1981), the Field Museum (1982-1999), the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (1999-2006), the University of Chicago (2006-2009), Yale University (2009-2016) and the Oak Spring Garden Foundation (2016–present), among others. He has also held visiting or part-time positions at universities and museums around the world. The following section discusses some of his professional accomplishments in more detail.
The Field Museum of Natural History
Crane spent about 17 years working at the
Field Museum of Natural History
The Field Museum of Natural History (FMNH), also known as The Field Museum, is a natural history museum in Chicago, Illinois, and is one of the largest such museums in the world. The museum is popular for the size and quality of its educationa ...
. Following a postdoctoral research position at
Indiana University, Bloomington, Crane began in the Field Museum's Geology department as assistant curator of
paleobotany
Paleobotany or palaeobotany, also known as paleophytology, is the branch of botany dealing with the recovery and identification of plant fossils from geological contexts, and their use for the biological reconstruction of past environments ( pal ...
. From 1982 to 1992, he held a variety of curatorial positions in the department of geology. Following a brief period as a vice-president of the museum, Crane became director of the Field Museum in 1995.
His tenure as Director of the Field Museum saw strengthening of the museum's programs in collections and research as well as the creation of two cross departmental units, the Center for Cultural Understanding and Change, and the Office of Environmental and Conservation Programs. His time as Director also included the acquisition of "
Sue," a well-preserved and almost complete
Tyrannosaurus rex
''Tyrannosaurus'' () is a genus of large theropoda, theropod dinosaur. The type species ''Tyrannosaurus rex'' ( meaning 'king' in Latin), often shortened to ''T. rex'' or colloquially t-rex, is one of the best represented theropods. It live ...
skeleton. Sue has since become an iconic fixture at the Field Museum.
The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
In 1999, Crane left the Field Museum to become director and chief executive of the
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew is a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom sponsored by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. An internationally important botanical research and education institution, it employs 1,10 ...
.
Crane sought to better connect the conservation and botanical work at Kew with the public side of the institution.
Crane's time at Kew included the attainment of UNESCO World Heritage site status and an embrace of digital technology, as well as an increase in the presence of seasonal themes and festivals that helped increase visitor attendance. His tenure at Kew saw increased visitation, both at Kew and also at
Wakehurst Place
Wakehurst, previously known as Wakehurst Place, is a house and botanic gardens in West Sussex, England, owned by the National Trust but used and managed by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (RBG Kew). It is near Ardingly, West Sussex in the Wea ...
, and a strengthening emphasis on the importance of biodiversity and the world of plants for the future of people.
The University of Chicago
Upon taking the position at Kew, Crane had said that he would not spend the rest of his career there. True to his word, Crane left Kew in 2006 to return to the United States, taking a University Professorship at the
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...
.
Crane spent three years at the University of Chicago.
Yale University
Source:
Crane became the dean of the
Yale
Yale University is a private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, and one of the nine colonial colleges ch ...
School of Forestry and Environmental Studies
Yale School of the Environment (YSE) is a professional school of Yale University. It was founded to train foresters, and now trains environmental students through four 2-year degree programs ( Master of Environmental Management, Master of Environ ...
(FES) in 2009 (succeeding
James Speth). His arrival coincided with the rippling effects of the late 2008
Great Recession
The Great Recession was a period of market decline in economies around the world that occurred from late 2007 to mid-2009. , and Crane played an important role in stabilizing the school's finances. Among his many other duties, he was involved in a variety of projects to provide student financial support and to increase student involvement in research. He also forged connections with other graduate programs (including the
Yale School of Management
The Yale School of Management (also known as Yale SOM) is the graduate school, graduate business school of Yale University, a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. The school awards the Master of Business Admi ...
). Crane also recruited several new scholars to the school and sought to strengthen programs supporting diversity and inclusion. In regards to research, Crane worked to increase research collaboration within the school.
Oak Spring Garden Foundation
Source:
In June 2016, Crane moved to northern Virginia to lead The Oak Spring Garden Foundation, a nascent nonprofit founded by the landscape designer and fashion icon
Rachel "Bunny" Lambert Mellon.
Located on part of the Mellons' former Virginia estate, called Oak Spring, the Foundation's mission is to "support and inspire fresh thinking and bold action on the history and future of plants, including the art and culture of plants, gardens and landscapes."
Containing Bunny Mellon's gardens and rare book library, the Oak Spring Garden Foundation supports research and scholarship relating to the diversity and future of plants; the art of plants, gardens, and landscapes. Crane is the inaugural president of the foundation.
Research and publications
Peter Crane's research interests include:
# Large-scale patterns and processes of plant evolution, plant paleontology.
# Integrated paleobotanical and neobotanical studies of plant diversity and evolution.
# Conservation of plant diversity, including crop diversity.
# Strategic planning for collections-based not-for-profit organizations, especially museums and botanical gardens.
As well as numerous scientific and popular articles, Crane has written ''Ginkgo: The Tree That Time Forgot'', been an editor for peer-reviewed journals such as ''Paleobiology'' and ''The Botanical Review of the Linnaean Society,'' and contributed as editor to multiple volumes on the evolution and conservation of plants.
He also co-wrote two major books on plant evolution. The first, written with Paul Kenrick, is titled: ''The Origin and Diversification of Land Plants.'' The second, written with
Else Marie Friis
Else Marie Friis (born 18 June 1947) is a Danish botanist and paleontologist. She is Professor Emerita in the Department of Geoscience at Aarhus University. Her work has been fundamental in the phylogenetic analysis of angiosperms, with widesprea ...
and Kaj Pedersen in 2011, is titled ''Early Flowers and Angiosperm Evolution''.
Honors and awards
He is a 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 ...
(1998), a member of the
American Academy of Arts and Sciences
The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (The Academy) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and other ...
, a foreign associate of the
United States National Academy of Sciences
The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the Nati ...
(2001),
a foreign member of the
Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences () is one of the Swedish Royal Academies, royal academies of Sweden. Founded on 2 June 1739, it is an independent, non-governmental scientific organization that takes special responsibility for promoting nat ...
(2002), and a Member of the
Deutsche Akademie der Naturforscher Leopoldina
The German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina (), in short Leopoldina, is the national academy of Germany, and is located in Halle (Saale). Founded on 1 January 1652, based on academic models in Italy, it was originally named the ''Academi ...
(German National Academy of Sciences, 2004). He was awarded a
knighthood
A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity.
The concept of a knighthood ...
on 12 June 2004 in the
2004 Birthday Honours for services to horticulture and conservation. In 2014 he was awarded the
International Prize for Biology
The is an annual award for "outstanding contribution to the advancement of research in fundamental biology." The Prize, although it is not always awarded to a biologist, is one of the most prestigious honours a natural scientist can receive. Ther ...
. In 2024 he was awarded the Darwin-Wallace medal by the
Linnean 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 ...
.
He is the recipient of several honorary degrees including from
Sewanee: The University of the South and the
University of Connecticut
The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university system with its main campus in Storrs, Connecticut, United States. It was founded in 1881 as the Storrs Agricultural School, named after two benefactors. In 1893, ...
in the United States, and
the University of Kingston, the
University of Portsmouth
The University of Portsmouth (UoP) is a public university in Portsmouth, England. Comprising five Faculty (division), faculties, the university offers a wide range of academic disciplines. in 2022, with around 28,280 students enrolled in Unde ...
and
Cambridge University
The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...
in the UK.
Further reading
Pulling up roots an interview with Peter Crane by Stuart Jeffries. The Guardian. 29 April 2006.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Crane, Peter
1954 births
Living people
Botanists active in Kew Gardens
Fellows of the Royal Society
Foreign associates of the National Academy of Sciences
Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
Knights Bachelor
Alumni of the University of Reading
University of Chicago faculty
Yale University faculty
20th-century British botanists
21st-century British botanists
People associated with the Field Museum of Natural History
Crane