About William Jameson
Lived 1796 – 1873 (aged 76). William Jameson was a British botanist, diplomat, physician, botanical collector, scientific collector and chemist.
William ("Gulielmo") Jameson (1796–1873) was a Scottish-Ecuadorian botanist. He was born in Edinburgh and studied at the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh. He made several voyages as a ship's surgeon, first to Baffin Bay, then to South America. In 1826 he settled in Quito, Ecuador. He was then appointed professor of chemistry and botany at Universidad Central del Ecuador. He went back to Edinburgh in 1869, returned to Quito in 1872, and died shortly thereafter.
Jameson made botanical investigations and collections in Greenland, Ecuador and in other South American countries. He began writing a flora of Ecuador, Synopsis Plantarum Aequatoriensium, of which Volumes 1 and 2 were published in 1865. The work was not completed.
Jameson is commemorated in the name of the Andean snipe (Gallinago jamesoni), and a species of Buddleja bush found in Ecuador, Buddleja jamesonii. As well as Jamesonia by in the Pteridaceae family, first published in 1830, and Jamesoniella, which is a genus of liverworts in the family Adelanthaceae, published in 1881.
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Important facts
Contemporaries
People whose lives overlapped William Jameson's
Frequently asked questions
Who was William Jameson?
Scottish-Ecuadorian botanist (1796-1873)
When was William Jameson born?
William Jameson was born on 3 October 1796 in Edinburgh.
When did William Jameson die?
William Jameson died on 22 June 1873 in Quito.
What was William Jameson's occupation?
William Jameson was a botanist, diplomat, physician, botanical collector, scientific collector and chemist.
What nationality was William Jameson?
William Jameson was British.
Sources & further reading
· DBpedia: William Jameson (botanist, born 1796)
Cite this page
APA: Biography.guide. (2026). William Jameson. https://biography.guide/william-jameson/
MLA: "William Jameson." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/william-jameson/.
Chicago: "William Jameson." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/william-jameson/.
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