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David Thoday

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Professor David Thoday
Born(1883-05-05)5 May 1883
Died30 March 1964(1964-03-30) (aged 80)
ChildrenJohn Thoday
AwardsFellow of the Royal Society (1942)[1]
Scientific career
InstitutionsUniversity of Cape Town
University College of North Wales
Author abbrev. (botany)Thoday

David Thoday FRS[1] (5 May 1883 – 30 March 1964) was a botanist.

Career

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Thoday was Harry Bolus professor of botany, University of Cape Town and later professor at the University College of North Wales 1923–1949. As a botanist, his work is denoted by the author abbreviation Thoday when citing a botanical name.[2]

Awards and honours

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He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1942. His nomination reads

Professor of Botany in the University College of North Wales, Bangor. Distinguished for researches in plant physiology and causal anatomy, in which he has carried out work over a wide field. In his earlier work he made important contributions to our knowledge of photosynthesis and respiration. This was followed by investigations on the water relations of plants in which particular attention was paid to the problems of microphylly. His later work has dealt with growth and differentiation in Compositae, and more especially with succulent members of this family, as exemplified in particular by 'Kleina articulata'. He has also made a number of contributions to taxonomy, including a revision of the genus 'Passerina'.[3]

Personal life

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He married fellow botanist and activist Mary Gladys Sykes in 1910. Their son was the geneticist John Thoday.

References

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  1. ^ a b Stiles, W. (1965). "David Thoday 1883-1964". Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society. 11: 176–185. doi:10.1098/rsbm.1965.0012.
  2. ^ Brummitt, R. K.; C. E. Powell (1992). Authors of Plant Names. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. ISBN 1-84246-085-4.
  3. ^ "Library and Archive Catalogue David Thoday". London: The Royal Society. Archived from the original on 18 December 2013. Retrieved 18 December 2013.