Henry William Harvey
Harvey, William Henry (1811-1866) was an Irish botanist who undertook extensive studies of algae in various parts of the world. He also published books describing and classifying algae. Algae are simple organisms that live in oceans, lakes, rivers, ponds, and moist soil.
Harvey was born on Feb. 5, 1811, in Summerville, near Limerick, Ireland. From 1824 to 1827, he attended school in Ballitore, Ireland. His teacher encouraged his interest in botany, the study of plants.
In 1835, Harvey sailed for Capetown, South Africa, where he served as the British colonial treasurer from 1836 to 1842. During that time, he continued to collect plant samples. He published The Genera of South African Plants in 1838 and A Manual of the British Marine Algae in 1841.
Harvey received an honorary medical degree from Dublin University in 1844 and was appointed curator of the herbarium at the university's Trinity College. During his time at the herbarium, he wrote and illustrated Phycologia Britannica: Or a History of British Seaweeds, which was published in three volumes from 1846 to 1851. In 1856, Harvey became a professor and head of the botany department at Dublin University.
Harvey visited the United States from July 1849 to May 1850, lecturing and collecting samples of algae, especially from Florida. From 1852 to 1858, he wrote several articles under the title “Nereis Boreali-Americana: Or Contributions to a History of the Marine Algae of North America,” for the book Smithsonian Contributions to Knowledge, published annually.
From 1853 to 1866, Harvey traveled to India, Australia, and many islands in the South Pacific Ocean. His book Phycologia Australica was published in five volumes from 1858 to 1863.
Harvey was married in 1861. He died of pulmonary tuberculosis on May 15, 1866, in Torquay, England.