William Edward Gumbleton facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
William Edward Gumbleton
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Portrait of William Edward Gumbleton published in William Robinson (editor), The garden. An illustrated weekly journal of horticulture in all its branches, volume 55, London, 1899.
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| Born | March 2, 1840 County Cork, Ireland
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| Died | April 4, 1911 (aged 71) |
William Edward Gumbleton (born March 2, 1840 – died April 4, 1911) was a famous Irish plant expert. He loved growing rare and new plants. In fact, some plants were even named after him!
Contents
Who Was William Edward Gumbleton?
Early Life and Education
William Edward Gumbleton was born in County Cork, Ireland, on March 2, 1840. He was the older of two sons. His father, Rev. George Gumbleton, was a church leader.
William went to Brasenose College, Oxford, a well-known university. He started there in 1858. However, it seems he left before finishing his studies.
A Passion for Plants
When he was a young man, William traveled around Europe with his mother. He learned different languages, studied art, and enjoyed music. Later, he settled at Belgrove, his family's estate in County Cork. This estate was on Great Island in Cork Harbour.
At Belgrove, William spent his time on horticulture. This means he focused on growing plants. He was especially good at growing rare and newly found plants. He liked plants from the Compositae family. These include flowers like Dahlia, Gnaphalium, Arctotis, and Olearia.
William Gumbleton was known for having strong opinions. He was very particular about plants. He sometimes even removed plants he thought were not good enough from other people's gardens!
Plants Named After Him
Because of his important work with plants, some were named in his honor. One plant species, Arctotis gumbletonii, was named after him. This was done by a famous botanist, J.D. Hooker. It was to thank Mr. Gumbleton for growing many beautiful new plants.
Two special plant types, called cultivars, were also named for him:
- Kniphofia 'W.E. Gumbleton'
- Azalea 'W.E. Gumbleton'
His Book Collection
William Gumbleton also collected many books about plants. This was a very large and important collection. He gave all these books to the Irish National Botanic Gardens in Glasnevin. This way, others could learn from them too.
