Ernest Edward Galpin
Encyclopedia
Ernest Edward GalpinErnest Edward Galpin (born Grahamstown
December 6, 1858 - October 16, 1941 Mosdene, Transvaal
, was a South Africa
n botanist and banker. He left some 16,000 sheets to the National Herbarium in Pretoria and was dubbed "the Prince of Collectors" by General Smuts
. Galpin discovered half a dozen genera and many hundreds of new species. Numerous species are named after him such as Acacia galpinii, Bauhinia galpinii, Cyrtanthus galpinii, Kleinia galpinii, Kniphofia galpinii, Streptocarpus galpinii and Watsonia galpinii. He is commemorated in the genus Galpinia N.E.Br.
as is his farm in the genus Mosdenia Stent.
, John Medley Wood
and Peter MacOwan
. Not surprisingly his collection became internationally known. In Barberton he befriended a young lawyer and plant collector Douglas Gilfillan, later to become his brother-in-law through their marriage to the de Jongh sisters. Galpin had had some new plant discoveries painted by Marie Elizabeth de Jongh (the daughter of Countess Mimi von Schönnberg) and married her in 1892. She shared his love of the outdoor life and accompanied him on many of his excursions and expeditions.
border where they collected around Ben MacDhui
and Satsannasberg. In 1897 he set out on a trip from Port Elizabeth to Humansdorp, Knysna, George, Riversdale, Swellendam and Caledon districts, ending in Cape Town. Here he spent some time at the Bolus Herbarium. In 1905 he visited Rhodesia with the British Association, collecting at the Victoria Falls
and the Matopos.
In 1907, in the company of Prof. HHW Pearson, he undertook a trip to South West Africa
to study Welwitschia, making stops at Port Nolloth
, Lüderitz Bay, Swakopmund, Welwitsch Station and following the Swakop River
to Haikamkab. In 1910 he and his wife departed Lourenço Marques for Kenya
and Uganda
, collecting in the Aberdare Mountains and returning with a new species of tree Lobelia.
From 1913 on he added few specimens to his collection, which even so numbered about 16,000 by 1916 when he donated the entire collection to the National Herbarium in Pretoria.
In 1917 he retired to his farm Mosdene on the Springbok Flats near Naboomspruit north of Pretoria. Here he became inspired to start collecting again. Following the lead of Dr. I.B. Pole Evans
, he started an intensive botanical study of the countryside surrounding his farm. Despite failing eyesight, he was taught to drive by his son, and together they set out on a trip through the Transkei and the Eastern Cape. His wife suffered a fatal heart attack in Durban in 1933 while he was on an expedition in the mountains of the eastern Transvaal.
He was a life member of the Linnean Society and joined the S. Afr. Assoc. for the Adv. of Science a year after its founding. Vol. 13 of Flowering Plants of South Africa was dedicated to him, and the University of South Africa conferred an honorary doctorate on him.
Grahamstown
Grahamstown is a city in the Eastern Cape Province of the Republic of South Africa and is the seat of the Makana municipality. The population of greater Grahamstown, as of 2003, was 124,758. The population of the surrounding areas, including the actual city was 41,799 of which 77.4% were black,...
December 6, 1858 - October 16, 1941 Mosdene, Transvaal
Transvaal Province
Transvaal Province was a province of the Union of South Africa from 1910 to 1961, and of its successor, the Republic of South Africa, from 1961 until the end of apartheid in 1994 when a new constitution subdivided it.-History:...
, was a South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
n botanist and banker. He left some 16,000 sheets to the National Herbarium in Pretoria and was dubbed "the Prince of Collectors" by General Smuts
Jan Smuts
Jan Christiaan Smuts, OM, CH, ED, KC, FRS, PC was a prominent South African and British Commonwealth statesman, military leader and philosopher. In addition to holding various cabinet posts, he served as Prime Minister of the Union of South Africa from 1919 until 1924 and from 1939 until 1948...
. Galpin discovered half a dozen genera and many hundreds of new species. Numerous species are named after him such as Acacia galpinii, Bauhinia galpinii, Cyrtanthus galpinii, Kleinia galpinii, Kniphofia galpinii, Streptocarpus galpinii and Watsonia galpinii. He is commemorated in the genus Galpinia N.E.Br.
NE Brown
Nicholas Edward Brown was an English plant taxonomist and authority on succulents...
as is his farm in the genus Mosdenia Stent.
Early life
One of seven sons born in Grahamstown to Henry Carter Galpin, watchmaker and jeweller, and Georgina Maria Luck, Ernest Galpin started his education at the local St. Andrews School. Due to his father's ill-health, Ernest left school at 14 to assist with the business. A short spell of active service on the frontier followed, after which he joined the Oriental Banking Corporation, later the Bank of Africa. After being transferred to Middelburg in the Cape, he developed an interest in the local plants and spent long hours dissecting and identifying wild flowers with the aid of the three volumes of Flora Capensis and Harvey's Genera. However, it was not till 1888 when he became bank manager in Grahamstown, that his collecting took on a serious turn. In 1889 he was transferred to Barberton and became intrigued by the relatively unknown local flora. His specimens now started reflecting his meticulous nature in that they were carefully pressed, preserved and labelled with extensive notes on locality, habitat and plant form. His duplicates soon found their way to Kew, Zurich and a number of notable botanists such as Harry BolusHarry Bolus
Harry Bolus was a South African botanist, botanical artist, businessman and philanthropist. He advanced botany in South Africa by establishing bursaries, founding the and bequeathing his library and a large part of his fortune to the South African College...
, John Medley Wood
John Medley Wood
John Medley Wood 1 December 1827 Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, England - 26 August 1915 Durban, was a South African botanist who contributed greatly to the knowledge of Natal ferns, is generally credited with the establishment of sugarcane mosaic virus immune Uba sugar cane in Natal and for his...
and Peter MacOwan
Peter MacOwan
thumb|rightPeter MacOwan born Hull, England on 14 November 1830 - died Uitenhage, Cape Province 30 November 1909, was a British colonial botanist and teacher in South Africa....
. Not surprisingly his collection became internationally known. In Barberton he befriended a young lawyer and plant collector Douglas Gilfillan, later to become his brother-in-law through their marriage to the de Jongh sisters. Galpin had had some new plant discoveries painted by Marie Elizabeth de Jongh (the daughter of Countess Mimi von Schönnberg) and married her in 1892. She shared his love of the outdoor life and accompanied him on many of his excursions and expeditions.
Later life
In 1892 Galpin was transferred to Queenstown, where he was to remain until his retirement in 1917. By now his herbarium specimens had grown to about 1500 in number. He made extensive collecting trips to mountains in the Eastern Cape, including Great Winterberg, Katberg, Stormberg and Andriesberg. In 1904 his wife accompanied him on a trip to the BasutolandBasutoland
Basutoland or officially the Territory of Basutoland, was a British Crown colony established in 1884 after the Cape Colony's inability to control the territory...
border where they collected around Ben MacDhui
Ben Macdhui (South Africa)
Ben Macdhui is a mountain in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It was named after Ben Macdhui in Scotland. It is the highest peak entirely within the Eastern Cape; KwaDuma is higher, but it lies on the border with Lesotho....
and Satsannasberg. In 1897 he set out on a trip from Port Elizabeth to Humansdorp, Knysna, George, Riversdale, Swellendam and Caledon districts, ending in Cape Town. Here he spent some time at the Bolus Herbarium. In 1905 he visited Rhodesia with the British Association, collecting at the Victoria Falls
Victoria Falls
The Victoria Falls or Mosi-oa-Tunya is a waterfall located in southern Africa on the Zambezi River between the countries of Zambia and Zimbabwe.-Introduction:...
and the Matopos.
In 1907, in the company of Prof. HHW Pearson, he undertook a trip to South West Africa
South West Africa
South-West Africa was the name that was used for the modern day Republic of Namibia during the earlier eras when the territory was controlled by the German Empire and later by South Africa....
to study Welwitschia, making stops at Port Nolloth
Port Nolloth
Port Nolloth is a town and domestic seaport in the Namaqualand region on the northwestern coast of South Africa, 89 miles northwest of Springbok....
, Lüderitz Bay, Swakopmund, Welwitsch Station and following the Swakop River
Swakop River
The Swakop River is a major river in the western part of Namibia, reaching the sea at the southern edge of the city of Swakopmund . The Swakop is an ephemeral river, its run-off is roughly 40 million cubic metres per annum. The main tributary is the Khan...
to Haikamkab. In 1910 he and his wife departed Lourenço Marques for Kenya
Kenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
and Uganda
Uganda
Uganda , officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. Uganda is also known as the "Pearl of Africa". It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by South Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by...
, collecting in the Aberdare Mountains and returning with a new species of tree Lobelia.
From 1913 on he added few specimens to his collection, which even so numbered about 16,000 by 1916 when he donated the entire collection to the National Herbarium in Pretoria.
In 1917 he retired to his farm Mosdene on the Springbok Flats near Naboomspruit north of Pretoria. Here he became inspired to start collecting again. Following the lead of Dr. I.B. Pole Evans
Illtyd Buller Pole-Evans
Illtyd Buller Pole-Evans CMG was a Welsh-born South African botanist.-Biography:Pole-Evans was born in Llanmaes near Cardiff, the son of an Anglican clergyman, Daniel Evans and Caroline Jane Pole...
, he started an intensive botanical study of the countryside surrounding his farm. Despite failing eyesight, he was taught to drive by his son, and together they set out on a trip through the Transkei and the Eastern Cape. His wife suffered a fatal heart attack in Durban in 1933 while he was on an expedition in the mountains of the eastern Transvaal.
He was a life member of the Linnean Society and joined the S. Afr. Assoc. for the Adv. of Science a year after its founding. Vol. 13 of Flowering Plants of South Africa was dedicated to him, and the University of South Africa conferred an honorary doctorate on him.
Publications
- "A Contribution to the Knowledge of the Flora of the Drakensberg" in Rep.S.Afr.Assoc.Adv.Sci.6:209-29(1909)
- "The Native Timber Trees of the Springbok Flats" Botanical Survey Memoir No.7 (1925)
- "Botanical Survey of the Springbok Flats" Botanical Survey Memoir No.12 (1927)
- "Biological Notes on Boscia rehmanniana and Olea verrucosa" Trans.Roy.Soc.S.Afr.23:255-58 (1935) with EA Galpin (his son)