Robert Kidston (29 June 1852 – 13 July 1924) was a Scottish

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 palaeobotanist.

Life

He was born in Bishopton House in

Renfrewshire Renfrewshire () (; ) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. Renfrewshire is located in the west central Lowlands. It borders East Renfrewshire, Glasgow, Inverclyde, North Ayrshire and West Dunbartonshire, and lies on the southern ba ...

on 29 June 1852 the youngest of twelve children of Robert Alexander Kidston, a

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

businessman, and his wife, Mary Anne Meigh. He was educated at the High School in

Stirling Stirling (; ; ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in Central Belt, central Scotland, northeast of Glasgow and north-west of Edinburgh. The market town#Scotland, market town, surrounded by rich farmland, grew up connecting the roya ...

. He studied

botany 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 ...

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 ...

and later studied the

Rhynie chert The Rhynie chert is a Lower Devonian Sedimentary rock, sedimentary deposit exhibiting extraordinary fossil detail or completeness (a Lagerstätte). It is exposed near the village of Rhynie, Aberdeenshire, Scotland; a second unit, the Windyfield ...

and worked for the

British Geological Survey The British Geological Survey (BGS) is a partly publicly funded body which aims to advance Earth science, geoscientific knowledge of the United Kingdom landmass and its continental shelf by means of systematic surveying, monitoring and research. ...

. Kidston was "arguably the best and most influential palaeobotanist of his day. In over 180 scientific papers he laid the foundations for a modern understanding of the taxonomy and palaeobiology of Devonian and Carboniferous plants." The Prime Minister

Bonar Law Andrew Bonar Law (; 16 September 1858 – 30 October 1923) was a British statesman and politician who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from October 1922 to May 1923. Law was born in the British colony of New Brunswick (now a Canadi ...

was his first cousin. In the 1880s Kidston was asked to catalogue the Palaeozoic plant collection of the British Museum (Natural History). This work began in February 1883, and was completed in 1886. In 1886, 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 Alexander Dikson, John Duns, Sir John Murray, and Robert Gray. He served as the Society's Secretary 1909 to 1916 and as Vice President 1917 to 1920. He uniquely won the Society's Neill Prize twice: 1886-1889 and 1915–17. He received an honorary doctorate (LLD) from Glasgow University in 1908 and a second doctorate (DSc) from

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 1921. He died whilst visiting his friend David Davies in Gilfach Goch in

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

on 13 July 1924. He is buried with his family in Logie Churchyard near Stirling.

Family

For most of his life he lived with his three unmarried sister in a house on Victoria Place in Stirling. In 1898 he married Agnes Marion Christian Oliphant (d.1950), twenty years his junior. They had two daughters, Hannah and Marjory. They lived in a large house at 12 Clarendon Place in Stirling with several servants.

Awards

He was elected a

Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the Fellows of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural science, natural knowledge, incl ...

(FRS) in June 1902, and won the Murchison Medal of the

Geological Society of London The Geological Society of London, known commonly as the Geological Society, is a learned society based in the United Kingdom. It is the oldest national geological society in the world and the largest in Europe, with more than 12,000 Fellows. Fe ...

in 1916. He was awarded two gold medals for photography. The medals and a 4000 strong collection of glass negatives were presented to the Geological Survey by his grandson, Geoffrey Wilkinson, in 2007.

Publications

*''Flora of the Carboniferous Period'' *''Catalogue of the Palaeozoic Plants in the British Museum''

Botanical Reference

References

External links

Christine A. Thomson and Ian P. Wilkinson, "Robert Kidston (1852-1924): a biography of a Scottish Palaeobotanist", British Geological Survey, Nottingham, NG12 5GG. On line (.pdf)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kidston, Robert 1852 births 1924 deaths Fellows of the Royal Society British paleobotanists Alumni of the University of Edinburgh

Robert The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of ''Hrōþ, Hruod'' () "fame, glory, honour, prais ...

People from Bishopton Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh People educated at Stirling High School 19th-century Scottish botanists 20th-century Scottish botanists