William Baxter (Oxford Botanic Garden curator)
William Baxter ALS, FHS (Rugby, Warwickshire, January 15, 1787 - November 1, 1871), was a British botanist, author of British Phaenogamous Botany and appointed curator of the Oxford Botanic Garden in 1813.
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British Phaenogamous Botany or Figures and Descriptions of the Genera of British Flowering Plants, was published in 6 volumes by William Baxter between 1834 and 1843, with 509 hand-coloured copper-plate engravings by Isaac Russell (an Oxford glass painter) and C. Matthews. These men were not trained botanical artists, but gradually acquired a good working knowledge of the subject. The engravings were later hand-coloured by Baxter's daughters and daughter-in-law. The volumes were sold by Whittaker, Treacher and Co., London and John W. Parker.
William Hart Baxter (c.1816-1890), William Baxter's son, succeeded his father as curator of the Oxford Botanic Garden. This botanist is denoted by the author abbreviation Baxter when citing a botanical name.[1]
References
- Brummitt, R. K.; C. E. Powell (1992). Authors of Plant Names. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. ISBN 1-84246-085-4.