Born Aberdeenshire 1851; died Dumfriesshire 1930
After graduating with an MB from Glasgow University in 1872, George Watt was appointed Professor of Botany at the University of Calcutta in 1873 which in turn led to his entry into the Indian Government Service. His many appointments during 22 years in the service ranged from Secretary of the Indian Revenue and Agricultural Department 1884, Commissioner for India at the Colonial Exhibition London 1885-86, President of the Pharmacological Section, Indian Medical Congress 1894, Officer in Charge Industrial Museum, Calcutta 1894-1903, and Reporter on Economic Products to Government of India 1887-1903. He retired from the Indian Service in 1903 and returned to Britain where he continued scientific research. In 1912 he visited Portuguese West Africa to study cocoa cultivation and for 5 years lectured on Indian botany at Edinburgh University. He was a prolific author drawing on experience in his many Indian postings. After 1910 he became actively involved in county life around his home in Lockerbie, serving on the county council, the local education authority and as a JP.
Sources: R. Desmond ‘Dictionary of British and Irish Botanists and Horticulturalists; obituary folder.
D.W.
American botanist, evolutionary biologist.
1969 received BA in biology from University of Virginia (USA).
1969-1976 he taught middle school science and mathematics at various schools in Virginia (USA)
1973 received a MA in Secondary Education and another MA in biology in 1978 from the University of Virginia (USA). Received PhD in botany from Miami University (USA) in 1983. His PhD invovled the genetics of "Appalachian Asplenium complex."
Following his PhD, Werth went to teach at the University of Kansas. 1987 appointed associate professor and curator of RL Reed Herbarium in Biological Sciences at Texas Tech University.