William T. Stearn

Who was William T. Stearn?

William Thomas Stearn CBE was a British botanist known for his expertise on the history of botany and in the classical languages. His work is widely read, with his etymological dictionary of Latin names of garden plants likely the best-known of the works appearing under his own name. Among botanists his Botanical Latin, now in its fourth edition, is a standard reference.

Stearn obtained a BSc in biology in 1931 and, an AB in classical philology in 1932. He was Librarian of the Royal Horticultural Society from 1932–1951, having been "discovered" by the horticulturalist E. A. Bowles while working in a bookshop in Cambridge.

He was President of the Linnean Society from 1979 to 1982 and in 1976 was awarded their Gold Medal and then in 1993 the Engler medal in gold. He was also the recipient of the Asa Gray Award in 2000, the highest honor of the American Society of Plant Taxonomists. He has sometimes been referred to as "the modern Linnaeus".