Henry Horatio Dixon

Life He was born in Dublin, the youngest of the seven sons of George Dixon, a soap manufacturer and Rebecca (née Yeates) Dixon. He was educated at Rathmines School and Trinity College, Dublin. His mother's family, the Yeates, were makers of scientific instruments based in Rathmines. After studying in Bonn, Germany he in 1894 he was appointed assistant and later full Professor of Botany at Trinity. In 1906 he became Director of the Botanic gardens and in 1910 of the Herbarium also. He had a close working relationship with physicist John Joly and together they developed the cohesion theory of the ascent of sap.

In 1907 he married Dorothea Mary, daughter of Sir John H Franks, with whom he raised three sons. He was the father of Hal Dixon and grandfather of Adrian Dixon, Joly Dixon and Ruth Dixon. They lived at 30 Holles Street, 4 and 17 Earlsfort Terrace, 23 Northbrook Road, and in 3 houses on Temple Road, Dartry. Their final home was that left to Dixon by Joly, known as "Somerset".

In 1916 he was awarded the Boyle Medal of the Royal Dublin Society In 1949 he was elected an honorary fellow of Trinity College Dublin.