- Thomas Edmondston
Thomas Edmondston (1825-1846), was a British-born
botanist .The family of Edmondston (also spelt Edmonston) was prominent in 19th century
Shetland . Thomas Edmondston's uncle, also Thomas Edmondston, waslaird of the Buness estate onUnst and host to many scientific visitors to Shetland. Another uncle, Dr Arthur Edmondston, had written "A View of the Ancient and Present State of the Zetland Islands" in 1809. His father,Laurence Edmondston , was also an accomplished naturalist.Edmondston the botanist compiled the first known list of Shetland plants at the age of 11 and which he showed to the visiting Sir Joseph Hooker, an eminent botanist of the time. He discovered several rare plants growing on the
serpentine rocks on Unst, including the endemicShetland Mouse-ear "Cerastium nigrescens", known as Edmondston's Chickweed on the island. In 1845, he produced his "Flora of Shetland", which, despite a few shortcomings, was a considerable achievement given his age and it is still an important reference for Shetland botany. Less well-known is his fauna, mainly a list of birds, published in the journal "The Zoologist " in 1844. This is less reliable and much of it was obviously derived much from the work of his father, Laurence, and his uncle, Arthur.Thomas Edmondston was appointed Professor of Botany at
Anderson’s University inGlasgow (nowUniversity of Strathclyde ), at the age of just 20. A few months later, he was offered the position of naturalist on board HMS "Herald", on a journey retracing the voyage ofHMS Beagle , andCharles Darwin became a frequent correspondent with requests for further observations. While disembarking from a boat on the coast of South America, however, Edmondston was killed by an accidentally discharged gun, cutting short a career of great promise.Confusingly, after his death, his parents named another newborn son Thomas.
----
References
Pennington, M. G., Osborn, K., Harvey, P. V., Riddington, R., Okill, J. D., Ellis, P. M. & Heubeck, M. 2004. "The Birds of Shetland". Christopher Helm, London.
Scott, W. & Palmer, R. 1987. "The Flowering Plants and Ferns of the Shetland Islands". Shetland Times, Lerwick.
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
