David Douglas 67248 224200729 2008-07-07T19:50:28Z Hede2000 284384 +da: :''This article is about the botanist. For articles on other people named '''David Douglas''' or '''Dave Douglas''', see [[David Douglas (disambiguation)]].'' {{Infobox Scientist |name = |box_width = |image =David Douglass00.jpg |image_width =150px |caption = David Douglas |birth_date = [[June 25]], [[1799]] |birth_place = [[Scone, Perthshire|Scone]] |death_date = [[July 12]], [[1834]] |death_place = |residence = |citizenship = |nationality = [[Scotland|Scottish]] |ethnicity = |field = [[botany]] |work_institutions = |alma_mater = |doctoral_advisor = |doctoral_students = |known_for = |author_abbrev_bot = |author_abbrev_zoo = |influences = |influenced = |prizes = |religion = |footnotes = |signature = }} '''David Douglas''' ([[June 25]], [[1799]] – [[July 12]], [[1834]]) was a [[Scotland|Scottish]] [[botanist]]. The son of a stonemason, he was born in the village of [[Scone, Perthshire|Scone]] north-east of [[Perth, Scotland|Perth]]. He attended [[Kinnoull]] School and upon leaving he found work as an apprentice gardener in the estate of the [[David William Murray, 3rd Earl of Mansfield|3rd Earl of Mansfield]] at [[Scone Palace]]. He spent seven years at this position before leaving to attend college in [[Perth, Scotland|Perth]] to learn more of the scientific and mathematical aspects of plant culture. After a further spell of working in [[Fife]] (during which time he had access to a library of botanical and zoological books) he moved to the Botanical Gardens of [[Glasgow]] and attended botany lectures at the [[University of Glasgow]]. The Professor of Botany was greatly impressed with him and took him on an expedition to the [[Scottish highlands|Highlands]] before recommending him to the [[Royal Horticultural Society]] of London. [[Image:Pseudotsuga menziesii cone.jpg|right|frame|[[Coast Douglas-fir]] cone, from a tree grown from seed collected by David Douglas in 1826]] On behalf of Sir [[William Jackson Hooker|William Hooker]] of the RHS, the resourceful and often intrepid Douglas undertook a plant-hunting expedition in the [[Pacific Northwest]] in [[1824]] that ranks among the great botanical explorations of a heroic generation. The [[Douglas-fir]], which he introduced into cultivation in [[1827]], is named after him. However, the tree's scientific name, ''[[Pseudotsuga]] menziesii'', honors a rival botanist, [[Archibald Menzies]]. Other notable introductions include [[Sitka Spruce]], [[Sugar Pine]], [[Western White Pine]], [[Ponderosa Pine]], [[Lodgepole Pine]], [[Monterey Pine]], [[Grand Fir]], [[Noble Fir]] and several other [[Pinophyta|conifers]] that transformed the British landscape and [[timber industry]], as well as numerous garden [[shrub]]s and [[herb]]s such as the [[Ribes|Flowering currant]], [[Salal]], [[Lupin]], [[Penstemon]] and [[California poppy]]. His success was well beyond expectations; in one of his letters to Hooker, he wrote "you will begin to think I manufacture pines at my pleasure". Altogether he introduced about 240 species of plants to Britain. He died under mysterious circumstances in Hawai'i at the age of 35 when he apparently fell into a pit trap and was possibly crushed by a bull that fell into the same trap. He was last seen at the hut of Englishman Edward "Ned" Gurney, a bullock hunter and escaped convict. Gurney was also suspected in Douglas's death, as Douglas may have been carrying gold in a money purse. Douglas was buried in an unmarked common grave near Mission House in Honolulu. Later, in 1856, a marker was erected on an outside wall at Kawaiaha'o Church. A monument was built at the spot where Douglas died. It is located in Kaluakauka ("DR's Pit") off Mānā Road on the [[Hawaii Island|Island of Hawai{{okina}}i]]. ==Writings== *{{cite book|author=Douglas, David|title=Journal kept by David Douglas during his travels in North America 1823-1827 : together with a particular description of thirty-three species of American oaks and eighteen species of Pinus, with appendices containing a list of the plants introduced by Douglas and an account of his death in 1834. Published under the direction of the Royal Horticultural Society|publisher=W. Wesley & Son|year=1914}}[http://www.secstate.wa.gov/history/publications_detail.aspx?p=56 Available online through the Washington State Library's Classics in Washington History collection] ==Trivia== *In the Spring of [[1826]], David Douglas was compelled to climb a peak near [[Athabasca Pass]] to take in the view. In so doing, he became the first [[mountaineering|mountaineer]] in North America.{{Fact|date=April 2007}} *[[David Douglas High School]] in [[Portland, Oregon]] is named after him. {{botanist|Douglas|Douglas, David}} ==External links== *[http://www.biographi.ca/EN/ShowBio.asp?BioId=36969 Biography at the ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online''] *[http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=7551536 ''Grave of David Douglas''] *[http://www.coffeetimes.com/daviddouglas.htm ''Who Killed David Douglas?''] *[http://www.ddbotgarden.bc.ca/ ''The David Douglas Botanical Garden Society - Prince George BC Canada''] *[http://www.douglashistory.co.uk/history/daviddouglas.htm Family History] {{DEFAULTSORT:Douglas, David}} [[Category:Botanists with author abbreviations]] [[Category:Scottish botanists]] [[Category:Scottish explorers]] [[Category:Scottish mountain climbers]] [[Category:People from Perth, Scotland]] [[Category:Botanists active in North America]] [[Category:Alumni of the University of Glasgow]] [[Category:1799 births]] [[Category:1834 deaths]] [[Category:Explorers of Oregon]] [[da:David Douglas]] [[de:David Douglas]] [[es:David Douglas]] [[fr:David Douglas]] [[pt:David Douglas]] [[fi:David Douglas]]