Planetary symbols are used in astrology and traditionally in astronomy to represent a classical planet (which includes the Sun and the Moon) or one of the modern planets. The classical symbols were also used in alchemy for the seven metals known to the ancients , which were associated with the planets , and in calendars for the seven days of the week associated with the seven planets. The original symbols date to Greco-Roman astronomy ; their modern forms developed in the 16th century, and additional symbols would be created later for newly discovered planets.
133-406: Male ( symbol : β ) is the sex of an organism that produces the gamete (sex cell) known as sperm , which fuses with the larger female gamete, or ovum , in the process of fertilisation . A male organism cannot reproduce sexually without access to at least one ovum from a female, but some organisms can reproduce both sexually and asexually . Most male mammals , including male humans, have
266-908: A Methodist preacher and mayor of Tavistock. When their engagement was announced in The Times , Stearn was vastly amused to see that he was described as a "Fellow of the Linen Society", a typographical error for Linnean Society . Stearn was brought up an Anglican , but was a conscientious objector and after the Second World War became a Quaker . In his later years, following official retirement in 1976 he continued to live in Kew , Richmond . His entry in Who's Who lists his interests as "gardening and talking". He died on 9 May 2001 of pneumonia at Kingston Hospital , Kingston upon Thames, at
399-497: A Y chromosome , which codes for the production of larger amounts of testosterone to develop male reproductive organs . In humans, the word male can also be used to refer to gender , in the social sense of gender role or gender identity . The use of "male" in regard to sex and gender has been subject to discussion . The existence of separate sexes has evolved independently at different times and in different lineages , an example of convergent evolution . The repeated pattern
532-598: A caduceus and a winged cap; Venus has a necklace and a shining mirror; Mars has a war-helmet and a spear; Jupiter has a laurel crown and a staff; Saturn has a conical headdress and a scythe; the Sun has rays emanating from his head; and the Moon has a crescent atop her head. The written symbols for Mercury, Venus, Jupiter, and Saturn have been traced to forms found in late Greek papyri. Early forms are also found in medieval Byzantine codices which preserve horoscopes. A diagram in
665-547: A lunar phase , as part of a sequence of four symbols for "new moon" (U+1F311 ποΈ), "waxing" (U+263D β½οΈ), "full moon" (U+1F315 ποΈ) and "waning" (U+263E βΎοΈ). The symbol βΏ for Mercury is a caduceus (a staff intertwined with two serpents), a symbol associated with Mercury / Hermes throughout antiquity. Some time after the 11th century, a crosshatch was added to the bottom of the staff to make it seem more Christian. The βΏ symbol has also been used to indicate intersex , transgender , or non-binary gender . A related usage
798-490: A sexual system called androdioecy . They can also coexist with females and hermaphrodites, a sexual system called trioecy . The sex of a particular organism may be determined by a number of factors. These may be genetic or environmental, or may naturally change during the course of an organism's life. Although most species have only two sexes (either male or female), hermaphroditic animals, such as worms , have both male and female reproductive organs. Not all species share
931-421: A Latin translation of Abu Ma'shar al-Balkhi 's De Magnis Coniunctionibus printed at Venice in 1506, represented as the corresponding gods riding chariots. Earth is not one of the classical planets, as "planets" by definition were "wandering stars" as seen from Earth's surface. Earth's status as planet is a consequence of heliocentrism in the 16th century. Nonetheless, there is a pre-heliocentric symbol for
1064-453: A common sex-determination system . In most animals , including humans , sex is determined genetically ; however, species such as Cymothoa exigua change sex depending on the number of females present in the vicinity. Most mammals , including humans , are genetically determined as such by the XY sex-determination system where males have XY (as opposed to XX in females) sex chromosomes . It
1197-590: A considerable part of his output to botanical bibliography, including numerous papers and catalogues establishing the exact publication dates of books on natural history, particularly from the early nineteenth century, including William Herbert 's work on Amaryllidaceae (1821, 1837) and complete bibliographies of botanists such as John Gilmour (1989). At the RHS library he transformed the minimalist card indexing by introducing British Museum rules and adding extensive bibliographic information. He quickly realised that one of
1330-461: A convention introduced by Carl Linnaeus in the 1750s. The origins of the planetary symbols can be found in the attributes given to classical deities. The Roman planisphere of Bianchini (2nd century, currently in the Louvre , inv. Ma 540) shows the seven planets represented by portraits of the seven corresponding gods, each a bust with a halo and an iconic object or dress, as follows: Mercury has
1463-448: A few species. Anisogamy appears to have evolved multiple times from isogamy; for example, female Volvocales (a type of green algae) evolved from the plus mating type. Although sexual evolution emerged at least 1.2 billion years ago, the lack of anisogamous fossil records make it hard to pinpoint when males evolved. One theory suggests male evolved from the dominant mating type (called mating type minus). A common symbol used to represent
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#17327754986371596-436: A further 86 articles. His recollection of this task was that he acquired "that occupational hazard of compilers of encyclopaedias", encyclopedic knowledge. Many of Stearn's collaborative works used his bibliographic skills. While his genus monographs largely concentrated on Mediterranean flora , notably Epimedium , Allium and Paeonia , he was also the author of species articles both popular and technical as well as
1729-479: A gardener at Sidney Sussex College after leaving school at 13. He then became a bookseller at Bowes & Bowes. While working at the bookshop he made many friends among the Cambridge botanists and participated in their activities, including botanical excursions. In addition to Professor Seward, those influencing him included the morphologist Agnes Arber , Humphrey Gilbert-Carter the first scientific director of
1862-650: A major work on the life of John Lindley and produced an edited version of the classic book on herbals by Agnes Arber , one of the influences of his Cambridge years, and whose obituary he would later write for The Times . He also wrote a number of histories of the organisations he worked with as well as a number of introductions and commentaries on classic botanical texts such as John Ray 's Synopsis methodica stirpium Britannicarum (1691), together with historical introductions to reference books, including Desmond's Dictionary of British and Irish Botanists (1994). In his Botanical Gardens and Botanical Literature in
1995-565: A number of awards at home and abroad. Between 1953 and 1994 he produced more than 20 works describing Linnaeus' life and work. Of Stearn's writings on Linnaeus, the most well known is his edition of the 1753 Species plantarum , published in facsimile by the Ray Society in 1957, for which he wrote both a 176-page introduction and an appendix. Concerned that Linnaeus' methods were imperfectly understood by his contemporaries, Stearn wrote that his introduction "provided concisely all
2128-599: A number of classical treatises. In addition he produced floristic treatments of a number of regions such as Jamaica and Nepal . He also contributed to many national Florae as diverse as Bhutan and Greece, as well as major regional florae including the Flora Europaea and European Garden Flora . While his output covered a wide range of topics, he is best known for his contributions to botanical history , taxonomy , botanical bibliography, and botanical illustration. Botanical Latin (four editions 1966β1992),
2261-700: A number of other editions of Linnaeus' works, including Genera Plantarum , Mantissa plantarum and Flora Anglica . Later, he would produce a bicentenary guide to Linnaeus (1978) for the Linnean Society. Although Stearn spent much of his life studying and writing about Linnaeus, he did not admire the man's character, describing him as meanβ"a jealous egoist, with a driving ambition". When asked which botanists in history he did admire, he cited John Lindley , Carolus Clusius (1526β1609) and Olof Swartz (1760β1818). Stearn made major contributions to plant taxonomy and its history. In 1950
2394-622: A part-time research assistant. Later, Seward also gave Stearn access to the Cambridge University Library to pursue his research. Stearn was largely self-educated, and his widowed mother worked hard to support him while at school but could not afford a university education for him, there being no grants available then. When not at the Botany School, he attended evening classes to develop linguistic and bibliographic skills. His classes there included German and
2527-735: A planet. The original planetary symbol for Pluto was [REDACTED] , a monogram of the letters P and L. Astrologers generally use a bident with an orb. NASA has used the bident symbol since Pluto's reclassification. These symbols are encoded as U+2647 ♇ PLUTO and U+2BD3 ⯓ PLUTO FORM TWO . In the 19th century, planetary symbols for the major asteroids were also in use, including 1 Ceres (a reaper's sickle , encoded U+26B3 ⚳ CERES ), 2 Pallas (a lance, U+26B4 ⚴ PALLAS ) and 3 Juno (a sceptre, encoded U+26B5 ⚵ JUNO ). Encke (1850) used symbols for 5 Astraea , 6 Hebe , 7 Iris , 8 Flora and 9 Metis in
2660-608: A research scientist, despite lack of formal qualifications, enabling him to spend more of his time collecting and studying plants. During this time the museum was undergoing steady expansion, with new staff and programmes. At the museum he was put in charge of Section 3 of the General Herbarium (the last third of the Dicotyledons in the Bentham & Hooker system , i.e., Monochlamydae ) and floristic treatment of
2793-705: A revision of his original Epimedium monograph. William Stearn wrote extensively on the history of botany and horticulture, from Ancient Greece to his own times. He collected together J. E. Raven 's 1976 J. H. Gray Lectures, editing and annotating them as Plants and Plant Lore in Ancient Greece (1990). In 1993, he and Eldwyth Ruth Stearn translated and expanded Baumann's Die griechische Pflanzenwelt in Mythos, Kunst und Literatur (1986) as The Greek Plant World in Myth, Art, and Literature . Stearn compiled
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#17327754986372926-421: A series of papers on this genus, studying it at Cambridge, Kew and Paris. It became one of the genera which he was best known, and many species of which now bear his name. Epimedium and the related woodland perennial Vancouveria ( Berberidaceae ) would be the subject of his first monograph (1938) and were genera to which he would return at the end of his life. At the time the taxonomy of this genus
3059-535: A small cross below it. It has been interpreted as a depiction of the hand-mirror of the goddess, which may also explain Venus's association with the planetary metal copper, as mirrors in antiquity were made of polished copper, though this is not certain. In the Greek Oxyrhynchus Papyri 235 , the symbols for Venus and Mercury did not have the cross on the bottom stem, and Venus appears without
3192-623: A steady output of publications during his years at the Royal Horticultural Society's Lindley Library (1933β1952). These covered a wide range of topics from bibliography to plant nomenclature, taxonomy and garden plants, with a particular emphasis on Vinca , Epimedium and Lilium . Within two years of joining the library in 1933, he had produced his first major monograph, Lilies (1935), in collaboration with Drysdale Woodcock and John Coutts. This text, in an expanded and revised edition, as Woodcock and Stearn's Lilies of
3325-436: A term first proposed by L. H. Bailey in 1923, refers to a distinctive genus or species variety raised or maintained in cultivation, such as Euphorbia dulcis "Chameleon". Grex (Latin for " flock " or " herd ") refers to a group of hybrids of common parentage, such as Lilium Pink Perfection Group. These concepts contributed a similar clarity to the nomenclature of garden or agricultural plants that Linnaeus had brought to
3458-781: A vice-president. Stearn became a member of the Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland (BSBI) in 1954, joining the Maps Committee the following year to prepare their Atlas of the British Flora (1962). He remained on that committee till 1968, when it became the Records Committee. For 40 years he was the BSBI referee for Allium . While at the Lindley Library, he became a founding member of
3591-536: A visiting professor (1977β1983). Stearn is known for his work in botanical taxonomy and botanical history , particularly classical botanical literature, botanical illustration and for his studies of the Swedish scientist Carl Linnaeus . His best known books are his Dictionary of Plant Names for Gardeners , a popular guide to the scientific names of plants, and his Botanical Latin for scientists. Stearn received many honours for his work, at home and abroad, and
3724-417: A way of displaying traits that signify their fitness . Sexual selection is believed to be the driving force behind the development of these characteristics. Differences in physical size and the ability to fulfill the requirements of sexual selection have contributed significantly to the outcome of secondary sex characteristics in each species. In many species, males differ from females in more ways than just
3857-483: A work had already been published in the Netherlands before the war. He then continued to expand it with the assistance of his wife and son, systematically collecting botanical terms from botanical texts. It is said that only he could have written this work, which explains not just the derivation of plant names but also the philological principles involved in forming those names. The work is considered responsible for
3990-439: Is U+2643 ♃ JUPITER . Salmasius and earlier attestations show that the symbol for Saturn, β, derives from the initial letters ( Kappa , rho ) of its ancient Greek name ΞΟΟΞ½ΞΏΟ ( Kronos ), with a stroke to indicate an abbreviation . By the time of Kamateros (12th century), the symbol had been reduced to a shape similar to a lower-case letter eta Ξ·, with the abbreviation stroke surviving (if at all) in
4123-461: Is also possible in a variety of species, including humans, to be XX male or have other karyotypes . During reproduction , a male can give either an X sperm or a Y sperm, while a female can only give an X egg. A Y sperm and an X egg produce a male, while an X sperm and an X egg produce a female . The part of the Y-chromosome which is responsible for maleness is the sex-determining region of
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4256-477: Is called a gamete. The male gamete is smaller than the female gamete, and usually mobile. Anisogamy remains poorly understood, as there is no fossil record of its emergence. Numerous theories exist as to why anisogamy emerged. Many share a common thread, in that larger female gametes are more likely to survive, and that smaller male gametes are more likely to find other gametes because they can travel faster. Current models often fail to account for why isogamy remains in
4389-405: Is for the 'worker' or 'neuter' sex among social insects that is neither male nor (due to its lack of reproductive capacity) fully female, such as worker bees . It was also once the designated symbol for hermaphroditic or 'perfect' flowers , but botanists now use β₯ for these. Its Unicode codepoint is U+263F ☿ MERCURY . The Venus symbol , β, consists of a circle with
4522-459: Is his best known work, having become a standard reference and described as both the bible of plant taxonomists and a philological masterwork. It was begun during the war years and the first edition was basically a guide to Latin for botanists with no or limited knowledge of the language, which he described as a "do-it-yourself Latin kit" for taxonomists. Later, the work evolved into an etymological dictionary, but then Stearn learned that such
4655-423: Is sexual reproduction in isogamous species with two or more mating types with gametes of identical form and behavior (but different at the molecular level) to anisogamous species with gametes of male and female types to oogamous species in which the female gamete is very much larger than the male and has no ability to move. There is a good argument that this pattern was driven by the physical constraints on
4788-544: Is still considered one of the most comprehensive accounts of the origins and nomenclature of autumn-blooming anemones . Stearn was one of the last people to see Bowles alive, and when Bowles died, Stearn wrote an appreciation of him, and later contributed the entry on Bowles to the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography . Much of his spare time was spent studying at the Kew Gardens. The Lindley Library,
4921-514: Is true for many species of birds where the male displays more vibrant colors than the female, making them more noticeable to potential mates. These characteristics have evolved over time as a result of sexual selection, as males who exhibited these traits were more successful in attracting mates and passing on their genes. Planet symbols The seven classical planets, their symbols, days and most commonly associated planetary metals are: The International Astronomical Union (IAU) discourages
5054-446: Is used to represent the male sex (alongside the astrological symbol for Venus representing the female sex), following a convention introduced by Linnaeus in the 1750s. The symbol dates from at latest the 11th century, at which time it was an arrow across or through a circle, thought to represent the shield and spear of the god Mars; in the medieval form, for example in the 12th-century Compendium of Astrology by Johannes Kamateros,
5187-422: Is worn by lunar deities ( Selene/Luna , Artemis/Diana , Men , etc.) either on the head or behind the shoulders, with its horns pointing upward. The representation of the moon as a simple crescent with the horns pointing to the side (as a heraldic crescent increscent or crescent decrescent ) is attested from late Classical times. The same symbol can be used in a different context not for the Moon itself but for
5320-579: The Berliner Astronomisches Jahrbuch . In the late 20th century, astrologers abbreviated the symbol for 4 Vesta (the sacred fire of Vesta , encoded U+26B6 ⚶ VESTA ), and introduced new symbols for 5 Astraea ( [REDACTED] , a stylised % sign, shift-5 on the keyboard for asteroid 5), 10 Hygiea encoded U+2BDA ⯚ HYGIEA ) and for 2060 Chiron , discovered in 1977 (a key, U+26B7 ⚷ CHIRON ). Chiron's symbol
5453-1035: The Florilegium of Captain Cook and Joseph Banks from their first voyage (1768β1771) to the Pacific on the Endeavour , the similar account of Ferdinand Bauer 's later botanical expedition to Australia with Matthew Flinders on the Investigator (1801β1803), and the work of illustrator Franz Bauer (the brother of Ferdinand). Stearn's studies of Ferdinand Bauer's Flora Graeca (1806β1840) enabled him to combine his passion for Greece with that of illustration. Other illustrators of this period that he wrote about included William Hooker . William Stearn received three honorary doctorates during his lifetime, from Leiden (D.Sc. 1960), Cambridge (Sc.D. 1967), and Uppsala (Fil.Dr. 1972). He
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5586-572: The Gardeners' Chronicle and Gardening Illustrated and the Journal of Botany , his first in 1929. While working as a gardener's boy during school holidays he had observed a specimen of Campanula pusilla ( Campanula cochleariifolia ) with a distorted corolla . He then described and published the first appearance of the causative agent, the mould Peronospora corollaea , in Britain, using
5719-738: The 1997 Birthday Honours for services to horticulture and botany. He was well regarded in Sweden for his studies on Linnaeus, and possessed a good grasp of the language. In addition to his honorary doctorate from Uppsala, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences awarded him their Linnaeus Medal in 1972, he was granted the title of Commander of the Swedish Order of the Star of the North (Polar Star) in 1980 and admitted to membership of
5852-593: The Alchemical Symbols block. Both symbols have been used alchemically for gold, as have more elaborate symbols showing a disk with multiple rays or even a face. The Mars symbol , β, is a depiction of a circle with an arrow emerging from it, pointing at an angle to the upper right in Europe and to the upper left in India. It is also the old and obsolete symbol for iron in alchemy. In zoology and botany, it
5985-792: The Engler Gold Medal from the International Association for Plant Taxonomy . The Royal Horticultural Society awarded him both their Veitch Memorial Medal (1964) and Victoria Medal of Honour (VMH, 1965). In 2000, he received the Asa Gray Award , the highest honour of the American Society of Plant Taxonomists . Stearn was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in
6118-693: The Goulandris Museum of Natural History in Kifissia , Athens. Stearn first met the Goulandris' in 1967 and offered practical help with their museum. He also stayed with them when he and his wife visited Greece. Niki Goulandris illustrated both Wild Flowers of Greece that Goulimis and Stearn wrote in 1968, as well as his Peonies of Greece (1984). The latter work typified Stearn's encyclopedic approach, including topics such as mythology and herbalism in addition to taxonomy. Stearn then took on
6251-652: The International Code of Botanical Nomenclature (see Botanical taxonomy ). After his return to London in 1946, at the end of the Second World War, a number of major publications ensued, including Lilies of the World in 1950. The RHS also imposed two major tasks on their librarian. In 1950, Frederick Chittenden , a previous director of RHS Wisley and Keeper of the Library, died leaving unfinished
6384-696: The Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew , in 1930, at the age of 19, and also spent two weeks at the herbarium of the MusΓ©e National d'Histoire Naturelle , Paris, with the aid of a Β£15 grant from the Royal Society to study Epimedium . Also in 1930, the Fifth International Botanical Congress was held at Cambridge, and Stearn was able to attend. During this time he commuted between the bookshop,
6517-712: The Society for the Bibliography of Natural History (later, the Society for the History of Natural History) in 1936, was one of its most active publishing members based on his cataloguing work at the library, and published a history of the society for their 50th anniversary in 1986. Other societies on which he served include the British Society for the History of Science (vice-president), the British Society for
6650-491: The classics . He obtained his first employment at the age of 18 in 1929, a time of high unemployment, to support himself and his family. He worked as an apprentice antiquarian bookseller and cataloguer in the second-hand section at Bowes & Bowes bookshop, 1 Trinity Street (now Cambridge University Press ), between 1929 and 1933 where he was able to pursue his passion for bibliography. During his employment there, he spent much of his lunchtimes, evenings and weekends, at
6783-487: The globus cruciger , [REDACTED] (the globe surmounted by a Christian cross ) β is also used as a planetary symbol; it resembles an inverted symbol for Venus. The planetary symbols for Earth are encoded in Unicode at U+1F728 🜨 ALCHEMICAL SYMBOL FOR VERDIGRIS and U+2641 ♁ EARTH . The crescent shape has been used to represent the Moon since antiquity. In classical antiquity, it
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#17327754986376916-510: The wildflowers of the hedgerows and fields. Stearn's father died suddenly in 1922 when Stearn was only eleven, leaving his working-class family in financial difficulties as his widow (Stearn's mother) had no pension. That year, William Stearn succeeded in obtaining a scholarship to the local Cambridge High School for Boys on Hills Road , close to the Cambridge Botanic Garden , which he attended for eight years till he
7049-527: The Botanic Garden , John Gilmour then curator of the university herbarium and later director of the Garden (1951β1973), the horticulturalist E. A. Bowles (1865β1954), who became his patron, Harry Godwin , then a research fellow and later professor and Tom Tutin who was working with Seward at that time. Seward gave him full research facilities in the herbarium. He continued his research, visiting
7182-568: The Botanic Garden. Stearn also gained horticultural experience by working as a gardener's boy during his school holidays, to supplement the family income. Stearn attended evening lectures on paleobotany given by Albert Seward ( chair of botany at Cambridge University 1906β1936), and Harry Godwin . Seward was impressed by the young Stearn, giving him access to the herbarium of the Botany School (now Department of Plant Sciencesβsee 1904 photograph ) and allowing him to work there as
7315-423: The Botany School and Botanic Garden. This was at a time when botany was thriving at Cambridge under the leadership of Seward and Humphrey Gilbert-Carter . On 3 August 1940, Stearn married Eldwyth Ruth Alford (1910β2013), by whom he had a son and two daughters, and who collaborated with him in much of his work. Ruth Alford was a secondary school teacher from Tavistock , Devon, the daughter of Roger Rice Alford,
7448-662: The Botany School, Botanic Garden and home by bicycle, his preferred means of transportation throughout his life. In 1933, H. R. Hutchinson, who was the Librarian at the Lindley Library , Royal Horticultural Society 's (RHS) in London, was due to retire. John Gilmour, now assistant director at the Kew Gardens , put forward Stearn's name, together with Bowles, a vice-president of the Society, who had discovered Stearn at
7581-454: The Bureau des Longitudes announced its decision to follow prevailing astronomical practice and adopt the choice of Neptune , with Arago refraining from participating in this decision. The planetary symbol was Neptune's trident , with the handle stylized either as a crosshatch [REDACTED] , following Mercury, Venus, Jupiter, Saturn, and the asteroids, or as an orb [REDACTED] , following
7714-473: The Eighteenth Century (1961), Stearn provides some insight into his interpretation of botanical history: The progress of botany, as of other sciences, comes from the interaction of so many factors that undue emphasis on any one can give a very distorted impression of the whole, but certainly among the most important of these for any given period are the prevailing ideas and intellectual attitudes,
7847-645: The History of Medicine (Council), the Garden History Society (president 1977β1982) and was a corresponding member of the Botanical Society of America . Stearn was appointed Sandars Reader in Bibliography , University of Cambridge in 1965 speaking on "Bibliography in the Service of Biology." From 1977 to 1983 he was visiting professor at Cambridge University's Department of Botany, and also visiting professor in botany at Reading University 1977β1983, and then Honorary Research Fellow (1983β). He
7980-648: The Library (1930β1939), and Hutchinson reported directly to him. Stearn related that when he reported for duty, Hutchinson was completely unaware of the appointment of his new assistant. Lindley was one of Stearn's inspirations, also being a librarian who had a long association with the RHS. Lindley also bequeathed his herbarium to the Cambridge University Herbarium, where it now forms the Lindley Collection. As Stearn remarked "I came to know his numerous publications and to admire
8113-419: The Lindley Library all his life, being an active committee member and regularly attended RHS flower shows even after he was barely able to walk. As a student of the classics he was passionate about Greece , its mountains and plants (such as Paeonia ) and all things Greek, both ancient and modern. The Stearns had formed a friendship with Constantine Goulimis and Niki and Angelos Goulandris, founders of
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#17327754986378246-416: The RHS building in London to draft a final joint proposal that was published by Stearn as secretary of an editorial committee and adopted by the 13th International Horticultural Congress the following year. The resulting code was formulated as a supplement to the existing International Code of Botanical Nomenclature . Stearn introduced two important concepts, the terms " cultivar " and " grex ". Cultivar,
8379-663: The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in 1983. Stearn was also elected to membership of the Swedish Linnaeus Society . Stearn is considered a preeminent British botanist, and was once likened to botanical scholars such as Robert Brown , Darwin , the Hookers ( William and Joseph ) and Frans Stafleu . He has been variously described as a Renaissance man, a polymath , "the modern Linnaeus", "the great Linnaean scholar of our day", "one of
8512-881: The Seventh International Botanical Congress was held in Stockholm, and the RHS would have been represented by Chittenden, but he had been taken ill. Bowles then arranged for Stearn and Gilmour to represent the society in his stead. The congress appointed a special committee to consider nomenclatural issues related to cultivated plants, which became known as the Committee for the Nomenclature of Cultivated Plants (the "Stockholm Committee"), with Stearn as secretary (1950β1953). Stearn then proposed an International Code of Nomenclature for Cultivated Plants (the "Cultivated Code"), producing
8645-731: The World (1950) became a standard work on the Liliaceae sensu lato . While at the library he also continued his collaboration with his Cambridge colleagues, publishing catalogues of the Herbarium collections, including the Catalogue of the Collections of the Herbarium of the University Botany School, Cambridge (1935). The second task imposed on him at this time involved the RHS role in maintaining revision of
8778-602: The Y-chromosome, the SRY . The SRY activates Sox9 , which forms feedforward loops with FGF9 and PGD 2 in the gonads , allowing the levels of these genes to stay high enough in order to cause male development; for example, Fgf9 is responsible for development of the spermatic cords and the multiplication of Sertoli cells , both of which are crucial to male sexual development. The ZW sex-determination system , where males have ZZ (as opposed to ZW in females) sex chromosomes, may be found in birds and some insects (mostly butterflies and moths ) and other organisms. Members of
8911-458: The age of 90. His funeral took place on 18 May at Mortlake crematorium. He left three children (Roger Thomas Stearn, Margaret Ruth Stearn and Helen Elizabeth Stearn) and an estate of Β£461,240. His wife, whose 100th birthday was celebrated at the Linnean Society in 2010, lived to the age of 103. Stearn had a reputation for his encyclopedic knowledge, geniality, wit and generosity with his time and knowledge, being always willing to contribute to
9044-453: The alchemical symbols for iron , β, and gold , β. Gold and iron are the planetary metals for the Sun and Mars, and so share their symbols. Several orientations were suggested, but an upright arrow is now universal. Another symbol, [REDACTED] , was suggested by Lalande in 1784. In a letter to Herschel , Lalande described it as "a globe surmounted by the first letter of your name". The platinum symbol tends to be used by astronomers, and
9177-431: The assumptions and stimuli of the time, for often upon them depends the extent to which a particular study attracts an unbroken succession of men of industry and originality intent on building a system of knowledge and communicating it successfully to others of like mind. Stearn's historical research is best known for his work on Carl Linnaeus (1707β1778), which he began while at the Natural History Museum, and which won him
9310-415: The astronomical compendium by Johannes Kamateros (12th century) closely resembles the 11th-century forms shown above, with the Sun represented by a circle with a single ray, Jupiter by the letter zeta (the initial of Zeus , Jupiter's counterpart in Greek mythology), Mars by a round shield in front of a diagonal spear, and the remaining classical planets by symbols resembling the modern ones, though without
9443-417: The book titled Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus . Unicode encodes the symbol as U+2640 ♀ FEMALE SIGN , in the Miscellaneous Symbols block. The modern astronomical symbol for the Sun, the circumpunct ( U+2609 ☉ SUN ), was first used in the Renaissance . It possibly represents Apollo's golden shield with a boss ; it is unknown if it traces descent from
9576-516: The bookshop. Stearn was 22 when he began work at the library, initially as assistant librarian, before taking over Hutchinson's position after six months. He later explained his appointment at such a young age as being the result of World War I : "All the people who should have had those jobs were dead." There he collaborated with Bowles on a number of plant monographs , such as Bowles' Handbook of Crocus and their work on Anemone japonica ( Anemone hupehensis var. japonica ). Written in 1947, it
9709-399: The botanist Reginald Farrer , whom he named Allium farreri after, and also described Rosa farreri (1933) and other species named after Farrer. It was while he was compiling Farrer's works in 1930 that he came across the latter's work, The English Rock-Garden (1919) and its account of Barren-worts ( Epimedium ), and kindled a lifetime interest in the genus . From 1932, he produced
9842-622: The context of gender , such as for gender role or gender identity of a man or boy . For example, according to Merriam-Webster, "male" can refer to "having a gender identity that is the opposite of female". According to the Cambridge Dictionary, "male" can mean "belonging or relating to men". Male can also refer to a shape of connectors . Species that are divided into females and males are classified as gonochoric in animals, as dioecious in seed plants and as dioicous in cryptogams . Males can coexist with hermaphrodites,
9975-452: The continued survival of Latin as the lingua franca of botany. In addition to this seminal text, he frequently delighted in the illumination that the classics could add to understanding plants and plant lore, such as his Five Brethren of the Rose (1965). His best known popular work is his Dictionary of Plant Names , which found its way into the libraries of most horticulturalists. One of
10108-728: The cross (β²) in Johannes Kamateros (12th century). In botany and biology , the symbol for Venus is used to represent the female sex , alongside the symbol for Mars representing the male sex, following a convention introduced by Linnaeus in the 1750s. Arising from the biological convention, the symbol also came to be used in sociological contexts to represent women or femininity . This gendered association of Venus and Mars has been used to pair them heteronormatively , describing women and men stereotypically as being so different that they can be understood as coming from different planets, an understanding popularized in 1992 by
10241-399: The crosshatch-marks seen in modern versions of Mercury, Venus, Jupiter and Saturn. These cross-marks first appear in the late 15th or early 16th century. According to Maunder, the addition of crosses appears to be "an attempt to give a savour of Christianity to the symbols of the old pagan gods." The modern forms of the classical planetary symbols are found in a woodcut of the seven planets in
10374-424: The curl on the bottom-right end. Its Unicode codepoint is U+2644 ♄ SATURN . The symbols for Uranus were created shortly after its discovery in 1781. One symbol, β’, invented by J. G. KΓΆhler and refined by Bode , was intended to represent the newly discovered metal platinum ; since platinum, commonly called white gold, was found by chemists mixed with iron, the symbol for platinum combines
10507-424: The dating of the early 19th century collection of studies of Canary Islands flora by Webb and Berthelot (1836β1850). Another important work from this period was on Ventenat 's Jardin de la Malmaison (1803β1804), also published in the new Journal of the Society for the Bibliography of Natural History . In a number of instances his contributions to others' work went unacknowledged, particularly when he
10640-423: The dominant individual in a group becomes female while the other ones are male. In many arthropods , sex is determined by infection with parasitic , endosymbiotic bacteria of the genus Wolbachia . The bacterium can only be transmitted via infected ova, and the presence of the obligate endoparasite may be required for female sexual viability. Male animals have evolved to use secondary sex characteristics as
10773-551: The editorship of Annales Musei Goulandris , the scientific journal of the museum (1976β1999), succeeding Werner Greuter , the first editor, having been instrumental in getting the journal launched in 1973. Eldwyth Ruth Stearn took on the job of compiling the indexes. When he retired from this position he was 88, and was succeeded by John Akeroyd. He was a liberal contributor to the journal, and during this time he and Eldwyth Ruth Stearn undertook their translation of The Greek Plant World in Myth, Art, and Literature (1993). Stearn
10906-592: The facilities of the Botany library. At the Botanic Garden he developed a special interest in Vinca , Epimedium , Hosta and Symphytum , all of which he published monographs on. A series of botanical publications followed, starting with a new species of Allium ( A. farreri Stearn, 1930). Stearn repeatedly returned to the genus Allium , and was considered a world expert on it; many species bear his name. 1930 would also see his first bibliographic work, on
11039-412: The female and male gamete-producing organisms and structures but also the structures of the sporophytes that give rise to male and female plants. The evolution of anisogamy led to the evolution of male and female function. Before the evolution of anisogamy, mating types in a species were isogamous : the same size and both could move, catalogued only as "+" or "-" types. In anisogamy, the mating type
11172-726: The first draft that day. The code was accepted in principle by the committee, conditional on its approval by a parallel committee of the International Horticultural Congress (the Horticultural Nomenclature Committee), which would next meet in London in 1952 (the "London Committee"). Later that year Stearn was also appointed secretary of the London Committee so that he now represented both organisations. The two committees then met jointly on 22β24 November 1951 at
11305-756: The focuses of his work at the Natural History Museum was the flora of the Caribbean , where he carried out field work . Stearn continued to return to the Cambridge Botanic Garden, cared for his own garden and worked with the RHS to become an authority on horticulture as well as botany. William Stearn collaborated with his wife, Eldwyth Ruth Stearn, on a number of his most important works, including Botanical Latin and Dictionary of Plant Names and translating German botanical history into English. Just before his death he completed
11438-466: The footsteps of Sir Hans Sloane (1660β1753), whose collection had been left to the Natural History Museum. Stearn's generic work at the museum concentrated on Allium , Lilium and Paeonia . He continued to travel widely, with field work in Europe (particularly Greece), Australia, and the United States, and published 200 papers during his 24 years at the museum, and although the library
11571-478: The four volume RHS Dictionary of Gardening that the society had commissioned from him before the war. The war had interrupted the work as many of the expected contributors were unavailable. Stearn, together with Patrick Synge , the RHS Publications Editor, undertook to complete the work, particularly volume IV (RβZ), a task he completed within six months, with 50 new articles. The finished work
11704-503: The hand of Eris is a traditional Discordian symbol) were devised by Denis Moskowitz, a software engineer in Massachusetts. From 1845 to 1855, many symbols were created for newly discovered asteroids. But by 1851, the spate of discoveries had led to a general abandonment of these symbols in favour of numbering all asteroids instead. Moskowitz, who designed symbols for the trans-Neptunian dwarf planets, also designed symbols for
11837-466: The herbarium and library, a short bicycle trip away. Indeed, 35% of his total publications appeared in the quarter century of his retirement. He was commissioned to write a history of the museum for its centenary (1981), although he did so with some difficulty, due to deadlines and budget constraints. The task, which took three years, was made more difficult for him by the museum's decision to censor his critical comments. He continued his association with
11970-477: The historical evidence favours "the conclusion of the French classical scholar Claude de Saumaise (Salmasius, 1588β1683)" that it is derived from ΞΈΟ , the contraction of a Greek name for the planet Mars, which is Thouros . Borrowed from Old French masle , from Latin masculus ("masculine, male, worthy of a man"), diminutive of mΔs ("male person or animal, male"). In humans, the word male can be used in
12103-405: The industry, tenacity and ability with which he undertook successfully so many different things". Later Stearn would publish a major work on Lindley's life and work. Lindley's contributions to horticultural taxonomy were matched only by those of Stearn himself. Stearn soon set about using his antiquarian knowledge to reorganise the library, forming a pre-Linnean section. Not long after his arrival
12236-471: The information about his Linnaeus ' life, herbaria, publications, methodology etc. which a botanical taxonomist needs to know". The Times stated that no other botanist possessed the historical knowledge and linguistic skills to write, what is considered one of the classic studies of the Swedish naturalist and a highpoint of 20th century botanical scholarship. Subsequently, Stearn became a recognised authority on Linnaeus. Stearn produced similar introductions to
12369-526: The insect order Hymenoptera , such as ants and bees , are often determined by haplodiploidy , where most males are haploid and females and some sterile males are diploid . However, fertile diploid males may still appear in some species, such as Cataglyphis cursor . In some species of reptiles, such as alligators , sex is determined by the temperature at which the egg is incubated. Other species, such as some snails , practice sex change: adults start out male, then become female. In tropical clown fish ,
12502-517: The largest horticultural library in the world and named after the British botanist John Lindley (1799β1865), was established in 1868 by the acquisition of Lindley's 1,300 volumes upon his death. It had recently undergone considerable change. In 1930, the library had been rehoused in a new floor added to the society's Vincent Square headquarters, but the role of the library was somewhat downgraded. Frederick Chittenden had been appointed as Keeper of
12635-778: The library acquired one of its largest collections, the Reginald Cory Bequest (1934), which Stearn set about cataloguing on its arrival two years later, resulting in at least fifteen publications. While at the library he continued his self-education through evening classes, learning Swedish, and travelling widely. Stearn used his three-week annual leaves in the pre-war years to visit other European botanical libraries, botanic gardens, museums, herbaria and collections, as well as collecting plants, with special emphasis on Epimedium and Allium . His travels took him to Switzerland, Italy, Germany, Austria, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, and Sweden. The only break from this employment
12768-470: The major deficits in contemporary taxonomic nomenclature was a lack of precise dates of all the names, and set about rectifying this over a fifteen-year period, resulting in 86 publications, which was a major step in stabilising nomenclature. The importance of this lay in the rules of botanical nomenclature , which gives botanical names priority based on dates of publication. He considered his most important contribution in this regard to be his elucidation of
12901-522: The male sex is the Mars symbol β, a circle with an arrow pointing northeast . The Unicode code-point is: The symbol is identical to the planetary symbol of Mars . It was first used to denote sex by Carl Linnaeus in 1751. The symbol is sometimes seen as a stylized representation of the shield and spear of the Roman god Mars . According to William T. Stearn , however, this derivation is "fanciful" and all
13034-555: The mechanisms by which two gametes get together as required for sexual reproduction . Accordingly, sex is defined across species by the type of gametes produced (i.e.: spermatozoa vs. ova) and differences between males and females in one lineage are not always predictive of differences in another. Male/female dimorphism between organisms or reproductive organs of different sexes is not limited to animals; male gametes are produced by chytrids , diatoms and land plants , among others. In land plants, female and male designate not only
13167-530: The monogram by astrologers. For use in computer systems, the symbols are encoded U+26E2 ⛢ ASTRONOMICAL SYMBOL FOR URANUS and U+2645 ♅ URANUS . Several symbols were proposed for Neptune to accompany the suggested names for the planet. Claiming the right to name his discovery, Urbain Le Verrier originally proposed to name the planet for the Roman god Neptune and
13300-585: The name Herschel for Uranus , after that planet's discoverer Sir William Herschel , and Leverrier for the new planet, though it was used by anglophone institutions. Professor James Pillans of the University of Edinburgh defended the name Janus for the new planet, and proposed a key for its symbol. Meanwhile, Struve presented the name Neptune on December 29, 1846, to the Saint Petersburg Academy of Sciences . In August 1847,
13433-538: The naming of native plants two centuries earlier. Stearn continued to play an active part in the International Botanical Congresses over many years, where he was remembered for his rhetorical persuasion on nomenclatural matters. He was also a pioneer in the application of computer-aided technology to ( numerical taxonomy ), as in his work on Columnea (1969). Motivated by his interest in botanical history and taxonomy, Stearn devoted
13566-443: The nearly identical Egyptian hieroglyph for the Sun. Bianchini's planisphere , produced in the 2nd century, shows a circlet with rays radiating from it. In late Classical times, the Sun is attested as a circle with a single ray. A diagram in Johannes Kamateros' 12th century Compendium of Astrology shows the same symbol. This older symbol is encoded by Unicode as U+1F71A 🜚 ALCHEMICAL SYMBOL FOR GOLD in
13699-566: The production of sperm. For example, in some insects and fish, the male is smaller than the female. In seed plants, the sporophyte sex organ of a single organism includes both the male and female parts. In mammals, including humans, males are typically larger than females. This is often attributed to the need for male mammals to be physically stronger and more competitive in order to win mating opportunities. In humans specifically, males have more body hair and muscle mass than females. Birds often exhibit colorful plumage that attracts females. This
13832-618: The regions of Europe, Jamaica, the United States, Australia and Nepal, including work on the museum's Flora of Jamaica and the Nepal flora he started work on during the war. Seven volumes of the Flora of Jamaica had appeared prior to the Second World War. Although the project was revived after the war, and Stearn carried out six months of field work in Jamaica, it never came to fruition; no further volumes appeared. In Jamaica, Stearn followed in
13965-471: The smaller trans-Neptunian objects Varuna , Ixion , and Salacia . Others have proposed symbols for even more trans-Neptunian objects, e.g. Zane Stein for Varda . Although mentioned in the Unicode proposal for the other dwarf planets, they lack broader adoption. William T. Stearn William Thomas Stearn CBE FLS VMH ( / s t ΙΛr n / ; 16 April 1911 β 9 May 2001)
14098-454: The spear is drawn across the shield. The Greek Oxyrhynchus Papyri show a different symbol, perhaps simply a spear. Its Unicode codepoint is U+2642 ♂ MALE SIGN ( ♂ ). The symbol for Jupiter , β, was originally a Greek zeta, Ξ , with a stroke indicating that it is an abbreviation (for Zeus , the Greek equivalent of Roman Jupiter). Its Unicode codepoint
14231-515: The symbol of a trident , while falsely stating that this had been officially approved by the French Bureau des Longitudes . In October, he sought to name the planet Leverrier , after himself, and he had loyal support in this from the observatory director, François Arago , who in turn proposed a new symbol for the planet, [REDACTED] . However, this suggestion met with resistance outside France, and French almanacs quickly reintroduced
14364-509: The symbols for Uranus, Earth, and Mars. The crosshatch variant is the more common today. For use in computer systems, the symbols are encoded as U+2646 ♆ NEPTUNE and U+2BC9 ⯉ NEPTUNE FORM TWO . Pluto was almost universally considered a planet from its discovery in 1930 until its re-classification as a dwarf planet (planetoid) by the IAU in 2006. Planetary geologists and astrologers continue to treat it as
14497-472: The time of his retirement in 1976, he was still using a fountain pen as his only means of communication and scholarship, a fact commemorated by his retirement present of a Mont Blanc pen capable of writing for long periods without refills. Following his retirement on 30 November 1976, he continued to work, both at the museum and at the Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew , where his home at 17 High Park Road, Kew Gardens, Richmond (see image ), gave him access to
14630-410: The use of these symbols in modern journal articles, and their style manual proposes one- and two-letter abbreviations for the names of the planets for cases where planetary symbols might be used, such as in the headings of tables. The modern planets with their traditional symbols and IAU abbreviations are: The symbols of Venus and Mars are also used to represent female and male in biology following
14763-712: The war, Stearn and his new wife, Eldwyth Ruth Stearn, were obliged to live in the Lindley Library for a while till they found a more permanent home, due to the acute housing shortage in London. From the Lindley Library, Stearn (see 1950 Photograph ) moved to the Botany Department at the Natural History Museum , South Kensington in 1952, and by the time he retired in 1976, he was the Senior Principal Scientific Officer there. He had now achieved his aim of becoming
14896-432: The west. William Stearn's early education was at the nearby Milton Road Junior Council School (see image ). Despite not having any family background in science (though he recalled that his grandfather was the university rat-catcher) he developed a keen interest in natural history and books at an early age. He spent his school holidays on his uncle's Suffolk farm, tending cows grazing by the roadside where he would observe
15029-400: The work of others. He had a mischievous sense of fun and was famous for his anecdotes while lecturing, while his colleagues recalled that "he had a happy genius for friendship". He was described as having a striking figure, "a small man, his pink face topped with a thatch of white hair", and earned the nickname of "Wumpty" after his signature of "Wm. T. Stearn". Stearn began his career as
15162-429: The work while Stearn edited and revised it. When it was published, Blunt's name was on the title page, while Stearn was only acknowledged in the preface. The omission was not rectified till he prepared the second edition in 1994, although the preface reveals Stearn's extensive contribution. His continuing interest in botanical illustration led him to produce work on both historical and contemporary artists, including
15295-434: The world's greatest botanists" and a giant among botanists and horticulturalists. On his death, The Times noted his encyclopedic grasp of his field, stating that he was "acknowledged as the greatest botanical authority of the twentieth century". One description that Stearn rejected, however, was "the complete naturalist" – an allusion to the title of his biography of Linnaeus. His contribution to his field
15428-454: The world, now used as a planetary symbol for the Earth. This is a circle crossed by two lines, horizontal and vertical, representing the world divided by four rivers into the four quarters of the world (often translated as the four "corners" of the world): [REDACTED] . A variant, now obsolete, had only the horizontal line: [REDACTED] . A medieval European symbol for the world –
15561-483: Was 18. The school had an excellent reputation for biology education, and while he was there, he was encouraged by Mr Eastwood, a biology teacher who recognised his talents. The school also provided him with a thorough education in both Latin and Greek . He became secretary of the school's Natural History Society, won an essay prize from the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds and spent much of his time at
15694-460: Was a British botanist . Born in Cambridge in 1911, he was largely self-educated and developed an early interest in books and natural history . His initial work experience was at a Cambridge bookshop, but he also had an occupation as an assistant in the university botany department . At the age of 29, he married Eldwyth Ruth Alford, who later became his collaborator. While at the bookshop, he
15827-468: Was a member of the Linnean Society for many years, becoming a fellow as early as 1934. He served as botanical curator 1959β1985, council member 1959β1963 and as vice-president 1961β1962 and president 1979β1982, producing a revised and updated history of the society in 1988. He also served as president of the Garden History Society and the Ray Society (1975β1977). The Royal Horticultural Society had made him an honorary fellow in 1946 and in 1986 he became
15960-538: Was adapted as additional centaurs were discovered; symbols for 5145 Pholus and 7066 Nessus have been encoded in Unicode. The abbreviated Vesta symbol is now universal, and the astrological symbol for Pluto has been used astronomically for Pluto as a dwarf planet. In the early 21st century, symbols for the trans-Neptunian dwarf planets have come into use, particularly Eris (the hand of Eris , β―°, but also β―±), Sedna , Haumea , Makemake , Gonggong , Quaoar and Orcus which are in Unicode. All (except Eris, for which
16093-578: Was also a fellow of the Institute of Biology (1967) and was elected an Honorary Fellow of Sidney Sussex College , Cambridge in 1968. William Stearn was the author of nearly 500 publications, including his autobiography. These included monographs, partial floras, books on botanical illustration, scholarly editions of historical botanical texts, dictionaries, bibliographies and botanical histories. During Stearn's initial four years in Cambridge (1929β1933), he published twenty-four papers, predominantly in
16226-536: Was awarded the Burma Star ). While there he undertook studies of Indo-Malayan and Sikkim - Himalayan tropical vegetation, carried out botanical explorations , taught biology to troops and began work on his Botanical Latin . His wartime observations led to collaborative publications such as An enumeration of the flowering plants of Nepal (1978β1982), Beautiful Indian Trees (2nd ed. 1954), as well as works on Himalayan species of Allium . On returning from
16359-490: Was born at 37 Springfield Road, Chesterton, Cambridge , England, on 16 April 1911, the eldest of four sons, to Thomas Stearn (1871 or 1872β1922) and Ellen ("Nellie") Kiddy (1886β1986) of West Suffolk . His father worked as a coachman to a Cambridge doctor. Chesterton was then a village on the north bank of the River Cam , about two miles north of Cambridge's city centre, where Springfield Road ran parallel to Milton Road to
16492-589: Was far greater than his extensive bibliography suggests, since he was known for his input into many of his colleagues' work, leading Professor P. B. Tomlinson to observe "he left no tome unstearned". The Society for the History of Natural History of which he was a founding member has created the William T. Stearn Student Essay Prize in his honour. Stearn is the botanical authority for over 400 taxa that bear his name, such as Allium chrysonemum Stearn. Many plants have been named ( eponymy ) after him, including
16625-445: Was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 1997. Considered one of the most eminent British botanists of his time, he is remembered by an essay prize in his name from the Society for the History of Natural History , and a named cultivar of Epimedium , one of many genera about which he produced monographs . He is the botanical authority for over 400 plants that he named and described. William Thomas Stearn
16758-521: Was not his responsibility, he spent much time there adding written notes to many of the critical texts. While at the museum, Stearn became increasingly involved in the work of the Linnean Society during his Kensington years. He was also offered the George A. Miller professorship of botany at the University of Illinois (1966), but felt he would be unable to leave his commitments in London. At
16891-534: Was offered a position as a librarian at the Royal Horticultural Society in London (1933β1952). From there he moved to the Natural History Museum as a scientific officer in the botany department (1952β1976). After his retirement, he continued working there, writing, and serving on a number of professional bodies related to his work, including the Linnean Society , of which he became president. He also taught botany at Cambridge University as
17024-444: Was published in 1951 and not only did he undertake the role of editing this large work but his contributions covered 50 genera, 600 species and complex identification keys such as Solidago and Viola . Since Stearn's entries in volume IV extended from Soldanella to Zygotritonia , he would jest that he was but "a peculiar authority on plants from 'So-' onwards". He issued a revised version in 1956 with Synge in which he added
17157-420: Was published, remaining the standard work on the subject to this day. There was, however, some bibliographic confusion – Collins , the publisher, had planned a book on botanical art for its New Naturalist series, but mistakenly commissioned both Stearn and the art historian Wilfred Blunt independently to produce the work. After the error was discovered the two decided to collaborate; Blunt wrote
17290-659: Was the war years 1941β1946, leaving his assistant Miss Cardew as acting librarian. Initially Stearn served as an air raid warden , before enlisting . As a conscientious objector , he could not serve in a combatant role, but was accepted into the Royal Air Force (RAF) Medical Services , as he had previously worked with the St John Ambulance Brigade . He served in the RAF in both England, and Asia (India and Burma, where he worked in intelligence , and
17423-632: Was the Masters Memorial Lecturer, Royal Horticultural Society in 1964. In 1976, the Linnean Society awarded him their Gold Medal for his contributions to Linnean scholarship and taxonomic botany. In 1985, he was the Wilkins Lecturer of the Royal Society , entitled Wilkins , John Ray, and Carl Linnaeus. In 1986, he received the Founder's Medal of the Society for the History of Natural History and in 1993, he received
17556-606: Was very confused, and with the help of the Cambridge Herbarium he obtained specimens from all over Europe to produce a comprehensive monograph. The work was so thorough that it was mistakenly considered a doctoral thesis by other botanists. He also began a series of contributions to the catalogue of the Herbarium, together with Gilmour and Tutin. With John Gilmour he issued two exsiccata -like works Herbarium florae Cantabrigiensis and Sertum Cantabrigiense exsiccatum (1933). After moving to London, Stearn produced
17689-450: Was younger, even though his introductions (often with the title "Revised and enlarged by W. T. Stearn") could be as lengthy as the texts they preceded. His contributions to botanical bibliography and in particular the correct interpretation of historical texts from Linnaeus to Arber are considered of central importance to the field of taxonomy. Within a few years after Stearn returned from the war, his Art of Botanical Illustration (1950)
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