Person

Howitt, Godfrey (1800 - 1873)

Born
8 October 1800
Heanor, Derbyshire, England
Died
4 December 1873
Caulfield, Victoria, Australia
Occupation
Botanist, Entomologist, Physician and Naturalist

Summary

Godfrey Howitt migrated to Melbourne with his family in 1840, became associated with the Melbourne Hospital and served on the Council of the University of Melbourne. He was a widely respected botanist and entomologist. Godfrey Howitt is commemorated in species of several genera. Ferdinand von Mueller named the genus Howittia, a native blue flowered mallow, in appreciation of his contributions to botany. Howitt bequeathed to the University his books on botany and entomology, his collection of insects, and funds for scholarships. The insects were subsequently transferred to the National Museum of Victoria on permanent loan.

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Details

Chronology

1830
Education - MD, University of Edinburgh
1840
Life event - Arrived in Port Philip
1847
Career event - Joined Port Philip Medical Association
1848
Career event - Appointed Honorary Physician, Melbourne
1853 - 1871
Career position - Member of Council, University of Melbourne
1854 - 1855
Career position - Vice-President, Philosophical Society of Victoria
1855
Taxonomy event - Howittia F.Muell. (1855) "Named in 1855 after Dr. Godfrey Howitt, a physician of Melbourne, interested in botany." Black, J.M.(1926) Flora of Australia 3 p. 378
1859 - 1868
Career position - Member, Royal Society of Victoria

Related Corporate Bodies

Related People

Archival resources

Adolph Basser Library, Australian Academy of Science

  • Australian Botanists - Biographies, MS 064; Adolph Basser Library, Australian Academy of Science. Details

Private hands (Walker, M.H.)

  • Godfrey Howitt - Records, 1800 - 1873; Private hands (Walker, M.H.). Details

Published resources

Book Sections

Journal Articles

  • Howitt, M. E. B., 'The Howitts in Australia', Victorian Historical Magazine, 3 (1) (1913), 1-24. Details

Resources

See also

  • Science and the making of Victoria, with Royal Society of Victoria, 2001, http://www.austehc.unimelb.edu.au/smv/index_h.html. Details
  • Pescott, R. T. M., Collections of a century: the history of the first hundred years of the National Museum of Victoria, Melbourne (Melbourne: National Museum of Victoria, 1954), 186 pp. Details

Gavan McCarthy, Christine Moje

Created: 20 October 1993, Last modified: 11 June 2024

EOAS ID: biogs/P000057b.htm

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