Quick Facts
Biography
Thomas Johnson (1863 – 1954) was an English botanist and academic renowned as an expert and cataloguer of the world's algae, fungi, and fossil plants.
Life
Johnson attended Elmfield College in Heworth, York and, after additional study, received an appointment in 1890 as Professor of Botany at Ireland's largest institution of higher learning, Catholic University of Ireland which, in 1909, became University College Dublin. In his 36-year tenure in the post he instructed generations of future botanists and other scientists, oversaw the expansion of the National Herbarium and was instrumental in the founding of the first seed testing station for Britain and Ireland. He also supervised and conducted research on economic botany, served on committees charged with advancing scientific learning in Ireland and was a pioneer in the study of phytopathology, the scientific study of plant diseases.
In 1902, Matilda Cullen Knowles was appointed a temporary assistant in the then Botanical Section of the National Science and Art Museum. She worked closely with Johnson to continue the development of the Herbarium collection. She also co-authored with him the Hand List of Irish Flowering Plants and Ferns (1910).
Johnson retired in 1923, allowing Knowles to take over curatorship, despite 'Assistant Keeper' being her job title.