Douglas, David (1798–1834)

Scottish botanist, explorer, and plant collector. As a botanical collector for the Royal Horticultural Society, he travelled extensively throughout North America, including the Oregon Territory and British Columbia, collecting specimens. Altogether, he described around 50 new trees and shrubs and brought back over 100 herbaceous plants to England. He also discovered several new animal species. In 1827, he travelled around the Hudson Bay, down into California, and along the Fraser River. The Douglas fir Pseudotsuga menziesii and the primrose genus Douglasia are named after him.

Douglas was born in Scone, Perthshire. As a child he disliked school work and persisted in absenting himself so that he could escape to the beautiful countryside around his home town. This prompted his father to remove him from school and place him in an apprenticeship with a gardener at Scone Palace. In 1820, he became gardener at the botanical garden at Glasgow and then became a botanical collector for the Royal Horticultural Society. During his travels, he is rumoured to have fallen in love with and possibly married an Indian princess. He died in the Sandwich Islands.