Ghillean Prance facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Sir Ghillean Prance
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| Born |
Ghillean Tolmie Prance
13 July 1937 Brandeston, Suffolk, England
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| Nationality | British |
| Alma mater | Keble College, University of Oxford |
| Known for | Director of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (1988–1999) |
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| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Botany |
| Institutions | New York Botanical Garden (1963–1988) |
| Thesis | A taxonomic study of the Chrysobalanaceae (1963) |
| Author abbrev. (botany) | Prance |
Sir Ghillean Tolmie Prance (born 13 July 1937) is a famous British botanist and ecologist. He has studied and written a lot about different plant families. He is especially known for his work on the giant water lily, Victoria amazonica. Sir Ghillean also used to be the director of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Ghillean Prance was born in Brandeston, England, on July 13, 1937. He went to Malvern College for his schooling. Later, he studied at Keble College, Oxford University. In 1957, he earned a degree in Biology. He then got his doctorate in Forest Botany in 1963.
A Career Exploring Plants
Sir Ghillean Prance started working at The New York Botanical Garden in 1963. He began as a research assistant. When he left in 1988, he was a Senior Vice-President. He also directed the Institute of Economic Botany there.
A big part of his career was spent doing fieldwork in the Amazon rainforest in Brazil. He explored and studied plants in this amazing region. In 1973, he helped start the first Botany Postgraduate Degree program in the Amazon. This program was at the National Institute of Amazonian Research.
From 1988 to 1999, he was the Director of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. This is a very famous botanical garden in the UK.
Helping Nature Today
Even after retiring, Sir Ghillean has stayed very active. He is especially involved with the Eden Project. This project is a huge visitor attraction in Cornwall, England. It has giant biomes that house plants from different climates.
He cares a lot about environmental issues. He is a trustee for the Amazon Charitable Trust. He also serves as a Vice-President for the Nature in Art Trust. For several years, he has been the president of the UK Wild Flower Society.
Awards and Recognition
Sir Ghillean Prance was knighted in 1995. This means he received the title "Sir" from the Queen. He has been a Fellow of the Linnean Society since 1961. He was also its president from 1997 to 2000.
In 1993, he became a Fellow of the Royal Society. This is a very important group for scientists. He also received the Victoria Medal of Honour in 1999. In 1994, he was given the Patron's Medal by the Royal Geographical Society.
Other countries have also honored him. In 2000, the President of Brazil made him a Commander of the Order of the Southern Cross. In 2012, Japan gave him the Order of the Rising Sun.
His Lasting Impact
Sir Ghillean Prance's work has had a lasting impact on botany. Two pictures of him are kept at the National Portrait Gallery, London.
In 1984, a botanist named Dieter Carl Wasshausen named a new plant genus after him. This group of flowering plants is called Pranceacanthus. It is found in Brazil and Bolivia.
A book about Sir Ghillean's life was written by Clive Langmead in 2001.
Works
- Prance, G. T.; Nesbitt, Mark. (eds) The Cultural History of Plants. Routledge.
Video
- A Passion for Plants (DVD), Christian Television Association (of the UK)
