thumb|Portrait of [[Sir George King]]

Sir George King (12 April 1840 – 12 February 1909) was a British botanist who was appointed superintendent of the Royal Botanic Garden, Calcutta in 1871, and became the first director of the Botanical Survey of India from 1890. He was recognised for his work in the cultivation of cinchona and for setting up a system for the inexpensive distribution of the anti-malarial quinine throughout India through the postal system.

Early life

King was born in Peterhead, Aberdeenshire, to Robert King and Cecilia Anderson. Robert King was a bookseller who moved to Aberdeen to partner with his brothers who were also in the book business. One brother, Arthur, was the founder of the Aberdeen University Press. Another brother, George, was an antiquarian, founder of a local liberal newspaper and a prominent writer on economic and social matters. King's parents both died from phthisis (tuberculosis), his father in November 1845 aged thirty six and his mother in 1850 at the age of forty. Orphaned at the age of ten, King was taken care of by his namesake uncle. He studied at the Aberdeen Grammar School, where he was nicknamed "Tertius" to distinguish him from other "King" namesakes, a name that stuck. One of his teachers was Patrick Geddes. Although a good student, his health was poor and he was forced to leave in 1854. The family was associated with the Free Church, but King later favoured the Anglican church. For a while he worked in his uncle's press business, but he continued to take a greater interest in natural history, an interest that had developed in his youth. He started putting together a collection in his workplace, something his printer uncle despised. At the age of eighteen King decided to pursue a medical education and entered the University of Aberdeen in 1861, where he was influenced by his teachers George Dickie, Alexander Harvey and John Struthers.]]

King was initially appointed to the General Hospital before transferring to the Medical College Hospital where he was made house surgeon. He fell ill with pneumonia, and it was suggested that he transfer to a drier climate. He was posted to Agra on 4 September and was attached to the 41st Bengal Infantry. He moved to Mathura in January 1867. Bouts of illness continued, and it was suggested that he should move to central India. He was posted to Guna in February 1867, taking charge of the Central India Horse. The next year he moved to Rajputana with stints at Deoli, Mount Abu and Jodhpur before moving to the Botanic Garden at Saharanpur. At the end of 1869, as his term was ending at Saharanpur, he was invited to join the Forest Department as an Assistant Conservator.

He also supervised the work of botanical artists and worked with Sir Joseph Hooker to help him prepare the Flora of British India. A major work was on the Annonaceae of British India. In 1891, he was appointed the first director of the Botanical Survey of India, an institution that linked the botanical officers in the different Presidencies. King also wrote a series of articles Materials for a Flora of the Malayan Peninsula in the Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal. He died of a seizure at San Remo in Italy on 12 February 1909.

He is buried in the cemetery in San Remo, and memorialised on the grave of his wife at St Machar's Cathedral in Old Aberdeen.

Botanical reference

Species described by him include the climbing fig Ficus pantoniana from New Guinea and northern Australia.

Honours and memorials

King took an interest in the Asiatic Society of Bengal, was sometime president of the Agricultural and Horticultural Society of India. He also encouraged research among his friends. David Douglas Cunningham and Arthur Barclay helped him on matters of plant pathology. He received a degree of LL.D. in 1884 and was elected to the Royal Society in 1887. As a landscape gardener, he was recognised by the Royal Horticultural Society and awarded the Victoria Medal of Honour in 1901. He was awarded the Linnean Medal in 1901.

For his work on making quinine and distributing it inexpensively he was made an honorary member of the Pharmaceutical Society and given a ring of honour by Czar Alexander III. On 1 January 1890 he was invested as a Companion of the Order of the Indian Empire. In 1898 he was created K.C.I.E., entitled to the prefix "Sir". A memorial was built at San Remo, where he visited every winter from 1898 until his death.-->

References

  • The materia medica of the Hindus /by Uday Chand Dutt; with a glossary of Indian plants by George King. (1922)
  • A Manual of Cinchona Cultivation in India (1880)
  • Orchids of the Sikkim-Himalaya Part 1-2 Part 3-4