Charles Edward Hubbard
Encyclopedia
Charles Edward Hubbard was a British
botanist, specialising in agrostology
– the study of grass
es; he was considered "the world authority on the classification and recognition of grasses". He is indicated by the author abbreviation
C.E.Hubb. when citing a botanical name
.
Charles Edward Hubbard was born on May 23, 1900 in Appleton, a hamlet on the Sandringham Estate in Norfolk
, where his father, also named Charled Edward Hubbard, was the head gardener at Appleton House to the queen of Norway. He was schooled at Sandringham, and at King Edward VII Grammar School in King's Lynn
, before joining the staff of the Royal Gardens at Sandringham in 1916. During his time there, he also spent five months at the Bygdøy Royal Estate
near Oslo
, and served for seven months in the Royal Air Force
.
In April 1920, Hubbard left the Sandringham Estate to join the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
, initially working in the temperate house and arboretum
. In September 1922, he gained a position in the herbarium
, working at first under Stephen Troyte Dunn, and later under Otto Stapf
. Hubbard published his first scientific paper in 1925, describing two new species in the genus Stipa
. In 1927, he married Madeleine Grace Witham, with whom he fathered a son, John.
At the request of the Government of Queensland
, Hubbard travelled to Australia in 1930, in exchange for the Australian botanist W. D. Francis, who spent a year at Kew. He visited the herbaria in Sydney
, Melbourne
, Adelaide
and Perth
, as well as examining every grass specimen in the Queensland Herbarium
in Brisbane
. He carried out field work around Rockhampton
and the Fitzroy River
in central Queensland, accumulating 15,000 specimens.
During the Second World War
, the Kew herbarium was evacuated to Oxford
and Hubbard moved with it, keeping his British herbarium at 9 Crick Road, the former residence of George Claridge Druce
, while the Kew herbarium was housed in the basement of the Bodleian Library
.
On October 1, 1957, Hubbard was promoted to Keeper of the Herbarium and Library at Kew, and rose to Deputy Director in April 1959. His first wife died in 1961. and in 1963, Hubbard married Florence Kate Hubbard, his second cousin by marriage. On 30 November 1965, he retired and moved to Hampton, Middlesex
, close to Kew. He died on May 8, 1980.
, but also covering the grasses of the West Indies, Mauritius
, Malaya
and Fiji
. He is perhaps better remembered for his popular science
book Grasses: a Guide to their Structure, Identification, Uses and Distribution in the British Isles, published in 1954, with a second edition following in 1968.
(1965), the Linnean Gold Medal
(1967) and the Veitch Memorial Medal (1970). He was also awarded a D.Sc. degree
by the University of Reading
(1960). A number of botanical names commemorate Hubbard, including Acacia hubbardiana, Digitaria hubbardii, Hubbardochloa
, (and thus also the subtribe Hubbardochloinae) Hubbardia
(and thus also the tribe Hubbardieae) and Pandanus hubbardii.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
botanist, specialising in agrostology
Agrostology
Agrostology , sometimes graminology, is the scientific study of grasses. It typically encompasses the true grasses , as well as the more grasslike species of the sedge family , the rush family , and the bulrush or cattail family Typhaceae...
– the study of grass
Grass
Grasses, or more technically graminoids, are monocotyledonous, usually herbaceous plants with narrow leaves growing from the base. They include the "true grasses", of the Poaceae family, as well as the sedges and the rushes . The true grasses include cereals, bamboo and the grasses of lawns ...
es; he was considered "the world authority on the classification and recognition of grasses". He is indicated by the author abbreviation
Author citation (botany)
In botanical nomenclature, author citation refers to citing the person who validly published a botanical name, i.e. who first published the name while fulfilling the formal requirements as specified by the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature...
C.E.Hubb. when citing a botanical name
Botanical name
A botanical name is a formal scientific name conforming to the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature and, if it concerns a plant cultigen, the additional cultivar and/or Group epithets must conform to the International Code of Nomenclature for Cultivated Plants...
.
Biography
Norfolk
Norfolk is a low-lying county in the East of England. It has borders with Lincolnshire to the west, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North Sea coast and to the north-west the county is bordered by The Wash. The county...
, where his father, also named Charled Edward Hubbard, was the head gardener at Appleton House to the queen of Norway. He was schooled at Sandringham, and at King Edward VII Grammar School in King's Lynn
King's Lynn
King's Lynn is a sea port and market town in the ceremonial county of Norfolk in the East of England. It is situated north of London and west of Norwich. The population of the town is 42,800....
, before joining the staff of the Royal Gardens at Sandringham in 1916. During his time there, he also spent five months at the Bygdøy Royal Estate
Bygdøy Royal Estate
Bygdøy Royal Estate occupies a large part of the northwestern part of the Bygdøy peninsula in Oslo, Norway. It is the official summer residence of the King of Norway.- History :The estate originally belonged to the Cistercian monastery on Hovedøya...
near Oslo
Oslo
Oslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King...
, and served for seven months in the Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
.
In April 1920, Hubbard left the Sandringham Estate to join the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, usually referred to as Kew Gardens, is 121 hectares of gardens and botanical glasshouses between Richmond and Kew in southwest London, England. "The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew" and the brand name "Kew" are also used as umbrella terms for the institution that runs...
, initially working in the temperate house and arboretum
Arboretum
An arboretum in a narrow sense is a collection of trees only. Related collections include a fruticetum , and a viticetum, a collection of vines. More commonly, today, an arboretum is a botanical garden containing living collections of woody plants intended at least partly for scientific study...
. In September 1922, he gained a position in the herbarium
Herbarium
In botany, a herbarium – sometimes known by the Anglicized term herbar – is a collection of preserved plant specimens. These specimens may be whole plants or plant parts: these will usually be in a dried form, mounted on a sheet, but depending upon the material may also be kept in...
, working at first under Stephen Troyte Dunn, and later under Otto Stapf
Otto Stapf
Otto Stapf FRS was an Austrian born botanist and taxonomist.Stapf trained in Vienna, moving to Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew in 1890. He was keeper of the Herbarium from 1909 to 1920...
. Hubbard published his first scientific paper in 1925, describing two new species in the genus Stipa
Stipa
This article is about a type of grass.For Speech Transmission Index for Public Address Systems, see Speech transmission index.For the Italian aircraft designer, see Luigi Stipa...
. In 1927, he married Madeleine Grace Witham, with whom he fathered a son, John.
At the request of the Government of Queensland
Government of Queensland
The Government of Queensland is commonly known as the "Queensland Government".The form of the Government of Queensland is prescribed in its Constitution, which dates from 1859, although it has been amended many times since then...
, Hubbard travelled to Australia in 1930, in exchange for the Australian botanist W. D. Francis, who spent a year at Kew. He visited the herbaria in Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
, Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, Adelaide
Adelaide
Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...
and Perth
Perth, Western Australia
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....
, as well as examining every grass specimen in the Queensland Herbarium
Queensland Herbarium
The Queensland Herbarium is situated at the Brisbane Botanic Gardens, Mount Coot-tha, in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It is part of Queensland’s Environmental Protection Agency...
in Brisbane
Brisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
. He carried out field work around Rockhampton
Rockhampton
Rockhampton can refer to:* Rockhampton, Queensland is a city in Queensland, Australia* Rockhampton City, Queensland, a suburb of Rockhampton, Queensland* Electoral district of Rockhampton, Queensland, Australia...
and the Fitzroy River
Fitzroy River (Queensland)
The Fitzroy River lies in Queensland, Australia. Its catchment covers an area of 142,665 square kilometres, making it the largest river catchment flowing to the eastern coast of Australia. The river is formed by the joining of the Mackenzie and Dawson rivers at Duaringa. The catchment stretches...
in central Queensland, accumulating 15,000 specimens.
During the Second World War
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, the Kew herbarium was evacuated to Oxford
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
and Hubbard moved with it, keeping his British herbarium at 9 Crick Road, the former residence of George Claridge Druce
George Claridge Druce
George Claridge Druce, MA, LLD, JP, FRS, FLS was an English botanist and a Mayor of Oxford.G. Claridge Druce was born at Potterspury on Watling Street in Northamptonshire. He was the illegitimate son of Jane Druce, born 1815 in Buckinghamshire.He went to school in the village of Yardley Gobion....
, while the Kew herbarium was housed in the basement of the Bodleian Library
Bodleian Library
The Bodleian Library , the main research library of the University of Oxford, is one of the oldest libraries in Europe, and in Britain is second in size only to the British Library...
.
On October 1, 1957, Hubbard was promoted to Keeper of the Herbarium and Library at Kew, and rose to Deputy Director in April 1959. His first wife died in 1961. and in 1963, Hubbard married Florence Kate Hubbard, his second cousin by marriage. On 30 November 1965, he retired and moved to Hampton, Middlesex
Hampton, London
Hampton is a suburban area, centred on an old village on the north bank of the River Thames, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames in England. Formerly it was in the county of Middlesex, which was formerly also its postal county. The population is about 9,500...
, close to Kew. He died on May 8, 1980.
Work
Hubbard published a long series of scientific articles, chiefly on the grasses of Europe and tropical AfricaTropical Africa
Although tropical Africa is most familiar in the West as depicted by its rain forests, this region of Africa is far more diverse. While the tropics are thought of as regions with warm to hot moist climates caused by latitude and the tropical rain belt, the geology of areas, particularly mountain...
, but also covering the grasses of the West Indies, Mauritius
Mauritius
Mauritius , officially the Republic of Mauritius is an island nation off the southeast coast of the African continent in the southwest Indian Ocean, about east of Madagascar...
, Malaya
Malay Peninsula
The Malay Peninsula or Thai-Malay Peninsula is a peninsula in Southeast Asia. The land mass runs approximately north-south and, at its terminus, is the southern-most point of the Asian mainland...
and Fiji
Fiji
Fiji , officially the Republic of Fiji , is an island nation in Melanesia in the South Pacific Ocean about northeast of New Zealand's North Island...
. He is perhaps better remembered for his popular science
Popular science
Popular science, sometimes called literature of science, is interpretation of science intended for a general audience. While science journalism focuses on recent scientific developments, popular science is broad-ranging, often written by scientists as well as journalists, and is presented in many...
book Grasses: a Guide to their Structure, Identification, Uses and Distribution in the British Isles, published in 1954, with a second edition following in 1968.
Accolades
Hubbard was the recipient of a number of awards, including the OBE (1954), CBECBE
CBE and C.B.E. are abbreviations for "Commander of the Order of the British Empire", a grade in the Order of the British Empire.Other uses include:* Chemical and Biochemical Engineering...
(1965), the Linnean Gold Medal
Linnean Medal
The Linnean Medal of the Linnean Society of London was established in 1888, and is awarded annually to alternately a botanist or a zoologist or to one of each in the same year...
(1967) and the Veitch Memorial Medal (1970). He was also awarded a D.Sc. degree
Doctor of Science
Doctor of Science , usually abbreviated Sc.D., D.Sc., S.D. or Dr.Sc., is an academic research degree awarded in a number of countries throughout the world. In some countries Doctor of Science is the name used for the standard doctorate in the sciences, elsewhere the Sc.D...
by the University of Reading
University of Reading
The University of Reading is a university in the English town of Reading, Berkshire. The University was established in 1892 as University College, Reading and received its Royal Charter in 1926. It is based on several campuses in, and around, the town of Reading.The University has a long tradition...
(1960). A number of botanical names commemorate Hubbard, including Acacia hubbardiana, Digitaria hubbardii, Hubbardochloa
Hubbardochloa
Hubbardochloa is a genus of grass in the Poaceae family. It was named after L. Ron Hubbard.- External links :*...
, (and thus also the subtribe Hubbardochloinae) Hubbardia
Hubbardia
Hubbardia is a genus of grass in the Poaceae family.- External links :*...
(and thus also the tribe Hubbardieae) and Pandanus hubbardii.