Johnson, Lawrence Alexander Sidney (Lawrie) (1925 - 1997)

Summary

Lawrie Johnson was a taxonomic botanist with an outstanding breadth of interests and expertise. Throughout his career, he maintained a prolific output of publications, and many co-authored publications continued to be published after his death. Lawrence Johnson was attached to the Royal Botanic Gardens Sydney from 1948-1997 as Botanist, later Director and then Honorary Research Associate.

Details

Johnson is particularly known for his work on eucalypts. In collaboration with colleagues, he named more than 180 eucalypt species and many new subspecies, and reclassified over 100 species. His purpose was to characterise key groups that typify major lines of evolution among them. Together with Pryor, he found that the eucalypts comprised eight key groups, informally termed subgenera, and devised a new classificatory listing and description of all the species then known. This work included the segregation of Angophora and Corymbia from the genus Eucalyptus as a separate species in 1995. Botanists Don Blaxell and later Ken Hill greatly assisted Lawrence Johnson in his work.

Born Cheltenham, New South Wales, 26 June 1925. Died Sydney, 1 August 1997. AM 1987 Educated University of Sydney (BSc (hons) 1947). Assistant Botanist, National Herbarium of New South Wales, Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney 1948-62, Australian Botanical Liaison Officer, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew 1962-63, botanist, National Herbarium of New South Wales, Royal Botanic Gardens, 1964, Botanist, Special Grade 1965, Senior Botanist (later retitled Deputy Chief Botanist) 1968-72, Director, Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney 1972-. Clarke Memorial Medal, Royal Society of New South Wales, Fellow, Australian Academy of Science 1986. Twice president, Linnean Society of New South Wales.

Chronology

1948

Career event - Joined the staff of the National Herbarium, Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney

1952

Taxonomy event - Eucalyptus glaucina (Blakely) L.A.S.Johnson

1962

Taxonomy event - Eucalyptus tetrapleura L.A.S.Johnson

1962

Taxonomy event - Eucalyptus oraria L.A.S.Johnson

1962 - 1963

Career position - Australian Botanical Liaison Officer, Royal Botanic Gardens, kew

1967 - 1968

Career position - President, Linnean Society of New South Wales

1968 - 1972

Career position - Deputy Chief Botanist, Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney

1971

Career event - Published A Classification of the Eucalypts

1971 - 1972

Career position - President, Linnean Society of New South Wales

1972 - 1986

Career position - Director, Royal Botanic Garden, Sydney

1973

Taxonomy event - Eucalyptus sphaerocarpa L.A.S.Johnson & Blaxell

1973

Taxonomy event - Eucalyptus pyrocarpa L.A.S.Johnson & Blaxell

1973

Taxonomy event - Eucalyptus paliformis L.A.S.Johnson & Blaxell

1979

Award - Clarke Medal, Royal Society of New South Wales

1984

Award - Mueller Medal, Australian and New Zealand Association for the Advancement of Science

1995

Taxonomy event - Corymbia ficifolia (F.Muell) K.D. Hill & L.A.S. Johnson

Related entries

Published resources

Encyclopedia of Australian Science and Innovation Exhibitions

• McCarthy, Gavan; Smith, Ailie; Moje, Christine; Rigby, Rebecca, The Study of Australian Eucalypts, eScholarship Research Centre, 2013, http://www.eoas.info/eucalypts/index.html. Details

Books

• Pryor, L. D.; and Johnson, L. A. S., A classification of the eucalypts (Canberra: Australian National University, 1971), 102 pp. Details

Book Sections

• Briggs, B.G.; and Johnson, L.A.S., 'A guide to a new classification of Restionaceae and allied families.' in Australian Rushes: Biology, Identification and Conservation of Restionaceae and allied families, Meney, K.A. & Pate, J.S, ed. (Nedlands, W.A.: University of Western Australia Press, 1999), pp. 25-56. Details
• Johnson, L. A. S., 'Anderson, Robert Henry (1899 - 1969), botanist' in Australian dictionary of biography, volume 13: 1940 - 1980 A-De, John Ritchie, ed. (Melbourne: Melbourne University Press, 1993), pp. 51-2, https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/anderson-robert-henry-9359. Details
• Johnson, L. A. S., 'Anderson, Robert Henry (1899-1969), botanist' in Australian dictionary of biography, volume 13: 1940 - 1980 A-De, John Ritchie, ed. (Melbourne: Melbourne University Press, 1993), pp. 51-52. http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A130061b.htm. Details
• Johnson, L.A.S; Briggs, B.G., 'Three old southern families: Myrtaceae, Proteaceae and Restionaceae' in Ecological biogeography on Australia, vol. 1, Keast, Allen, ed., vol. 1 (The Hague: W. Junk, 1981), pp. 427-469. Details
• Linder, H.P.; Briggs, B.G.; and Johnson, L.A.S, 'Restionaceae' in The Families and Genera of Vascular Plants. Vol. 4: Flowering Plants, K. Kubitzki, ed., vol. 4 (Berlin: Springer, 1998), pp. 425-445. Details
• Linder, H.P.; Briggs, B.G.; and Johnson, L.A.S, 'Anarthriaceae' in The Families and Genera of Vascular Plants. Vol. 4: Flowering Plants, K. Kubitzki, ed., vol. 4 (Berlin: Springer, 1998), pp. 19-21. Details
• Linder, H.P.; Briggs, B.G.; and Johnson, L.A.S, 'Ecdeiocoleaceae' in The Families and Genera of Vascular Plants. Vol. 4: Flowering Plants, K. Kubitzki, ed., vol. 4 (Berlin: Springer, 1998), pp. 195-197. Details
• Pryor, Lindsay Dixon; Johnson, Lawrence Alexander Sidney, 'Eucalyptus, the universal Australian' in Ecological biogeography of Australia (Monographiae biologicae vol.41), Keast, A., ed., vol. 1 (The Hague: W. Junk, 1981), pp. 499 - 536. Details

Journal Articles

• Anon, 'Publications of L. A. S. Johnson: 1949-1995', Telopea, 6 (4) (1996), 507-10. Details
• Benson, Doug, 'L. A. S. Johnson: taxonomist, ecologist, conservationist - botanist sens. Lat.', Telopea, 6 (4) (1996), 521-6. Details
• Briggs, Barbara G., 'L. A. S. Johnson - a botanical career', Telopea, 6 (4) (1996), 511-20. Details
• Briggs, Barbara G., 'Lawrence Alexander Sidney Johnson 26 June 1925 - 1 August 1997', Telopea, 7 (3) (1997), 177-180. Details
• Briggs, Barbara G., 'Lawrence Alexander Sidney Johnson 1926-1997', Historical Records of Australian Science, 13 (4) (2001), 475-494. https://doi.org/10.1071/HR0011340475. Details
• Briggs, Barbara Gillian; Johnson, Lawrie Alexander Sidney, 'Evolution in the Myrtaceae - evidence from inflorescence structure', Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales, 102 (4) (1979), 157-256. Details
• Hill, K.D.; and Johnson, L.A.S, 'Systematic studies in the eucalypts 5. New taxa and combinations in Eucalyptus (Myrtaceae) in Western Australia.', Telopea, 4 (4) (1992), 561-634. Details
• Hill, K.D.; and Johnson, L.A.S, 'Systematic studies in the eucalypts 6. A revision of the coolibahs, Eucalyptus subgenus Symphyomyrtus section Adnataria series Oliganthae subseries Microthecosae (Myrtaceae).', Telopea, 5 (4) (1994), 743-771. Details
• Hill, K.D.; and Johnson, L.A.S, 'Systematic studies in the eucalypts 8. A review of the Eudesmioid eucalypts, Eucalyptus subgenus Eudesmia. Telopea', Telopea, 7 (4) (1998), 375-414. Details
• Hill, K.D.; and Johnson, L.A.S, 'Systematic studies in the eucalypts 9. A review of series Sociales (Eucalyptus subgenus Symphyomyrtus, Section Bisectaria, Myrtaceae).', Telopea, 8 (2) (1999), 165-218. Details
• Hill, K.D.; and Johnson, L.A.S., 'Systematic studies in the eucalypts 3. New taxa and combinations in Eucalyptus (Myrtaceae).', Telopea, 4 (2) (1991), 223-267. Details
• Hill, K.D.; and Johnson, L.A.S., 'Systematic studies in the eucalypts 4. New taxa in Eucalyptus (Myrtaceae).', Telopea, 4 (2) (1991), 321-349. Details
• Hill, K.D.; and Johnson, L.A.S., 'Systematic studies in the eucalypts 10. New tropical and subtropical eucalypts from Australia and New Guinea (Eucalyptus, Myrtaceae)', Telopea, 8 (4) (2000), 503-540. Details
• Hill, K.D.; and Johnson, Lawrence A.S., 'Systematic studies in the eucalypts 7. A revision of the bloodwoods, genus Corymbia (Myrtaceae)', 6 (2-3) (1995), 185-504. Details
• Hill, K.D.; Johnson, L. A.S.; and Blaxell, D.F., 'Systematic studies in the eucalypts 11. New taxa and combinations in Eucalyptus Section Dumaria (Myrtaceae)', Telopea, 9 (2) (2001), 259-318. Details
• Hull, David L., 'Rainbows in retrospect: L. A. S. Johnson's contributions to taxonomic philosophy', Telopea, 6 (4) (1996), 527-39. Details
• Humphries, C. J.; Ladiges, P. Y.; and Brooker, M. I. H., 'Cladistic and biogeographic analysis of western Australian species of Eucalyptus L'Herit., informal subgenus Monocalyptus Pryor & Johnson.', Australian Journal of Botany, 35 (3) (1987), 251. Details
• Johnson, L. A. S., 'Myrtacea. Eucalyptus sieberi L.A.S.Johnson: Studies in the Taxonomy of Eucalyptus', Contributions from the New South Wales National Herbarium, 3 (3) (1962), 125. Details
• Johnson, L. A. S., 'Rich and Unfamiliar Flora', Australian Natural History, 19 (2) (1977), 58-61. Details
• Johnson, L.A.S.; and Briggs, B.G., 'Myrtales and Myrtaceae - a phylogenetic analysis.', Annal of the Missouri Botanical Garden, 71 (1984), 700-756. Details
• Johnson, L.A.S.; and Hill, K.D., 'Systematic studies in the eucalypts 2. A revision of the gimlets and related species: Eucalyptus extracodical series Salubres and Annulatae (Myrtaceae).', Telopea, 4 (4) (1991), 201-222. Details
• Johnson, Lawrence A.S.; and Blaxell, Donald F., 'New Taxa and Combinations in Eucalyptus - 4.', Telopea, 1 (6) (1980), 395-397. Details

Resources

• VIAF - Virtual International Authority File, OCLC, https://viaf.org/viaf/91894237. Details
• Wikidata, http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q3090721. Details
• 'Johnson, L A S (1925-1997)', Trove, National Library of Australia, 2009, https://nla.gov.au/nla.party-491868. Details

See also

• 'Biographical Memoirs', in Australian Academy of Science, Australian Academy of Science, http://www.science.org.au/fellows/memoirs/johnson.html. Lawrence Alexander Sidney Johnson 1926-1997, by Barbara G. Briggs. Details
• 'List of eucalypts published under this authority use abbreviation search 'L.A.S.Johnson'and family 'Myrtaceae'', Australian Plant Name Index (APNI), Australian National Botanic Gardens, 2012, http://www.anbg.gov.au/cgi-bin/apni. Details