William Henry Harvey (5 February 1811–15 May 1866) was an
Irish botanist who specialised in
algae.
Biography
William Henry Harvey was born at Summerville near
Limerick,
Ireland, in 1811, the youngest of 11 children. His father Joseph Massey Harvey, was a
Quaker and prominent merchant. William started his education at Ballitore School in County
Kildare and by the age of 15 had already established algae as his overriding interest.
Papenfuss, G.F. 1976. pp.21–46. Landmarks in Pacific North American Marine Phycology.
in Abbott, I.A. and Hollenberg, G.J. 1976.
Marine Algae of California. Stanford University Press, California. ISBN 0-8047-0867-3 After leaving school he joined the family business.
Harvey was an authority on algae and
bryophytes (
mosses), and author of
A Manual of the British Algae (1841),
Phycologia Britannica (4 vols., 1846–51),
Nereis Boreali-Americana. (3 parts 1852–85) and
Phycologia Australica (5 vol., 1858–63). He spent several years in
South Africa, and was the author, with
Otto Wilhelm Sonder, of the
Flora Capensis (7 vol. in 11, 1859–1933). Harvey's main algal
herbarium is located at
Trinity College, Dublin.
Harvey's discovery in 1831 of the
moss Hookeria laetevirens at
Killarney, new to Ireland, led to a lifelong friendship with Sir
William Jackson Hooker, who was then
Regius Professor of
Botany at
Glasgow University....
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