Stewart, Ralph Randles (1890-1993)

Herbarium
Natural History Museum (BM)
Collection
Plant Collectors
Resource Type
Reference Sources
Contributor
Natural History Museum (BM)
First name(s)
Ralph Randles
Last name
Stewart
Initials
R.R.
Life Dates
1890 -
Collecting Dates
1912 - 1962
Specification
Plant collector
Groups collected
Bryophytes
Pteridophytes
Spermatophytes
Organisation(s)
RAW (main), A, B, BH, BM, CAL, DAO, DD, DPU (currently NY), E, GH, ISL, K, LE, MICH, MO, NY, PH, S, US
Countries
Indian region: Pakistan, IndiaNorth American region: United States
Associate(s)
Koelz, Walter Norman (1895-1989) (co-collector)
Nasir, Eugene (1908-1991) (co-collector)
Qazi, M.I. (co-collector)
Stewart, I.D. (fl. 1920-1939) (co-collector)
Biography
American botanist and teacher Ralph Randles Stewart devoted his life to studying the flora of Pakistan. He was born in New York City and gained his PhD at Columbia University, New York, in 1916. He was later awarded an honorary DSc by the University of the Punjab and an honorary LLD (Doctor of Laws) from Alma College, Michigan.

Stewart joined Gordon College (a missionary college) in Rawalpindi in 1911, initially teaching botany and zoology to pre-medical students. He went on to be appointed professor of botany in 1917, in which post he served until his retirement. He was also principal of the college from 1934-1954.

In his spare time, Stewart collected plants, becoming an authority on the Indian flora through private study. His base was perfect for exploring the Himalayan foothills and the Kashmir valley, and he built up a significant collection, which was later deposited in Pakistan's National Herbarium.

At the age of 70, after his retirement from Gordon College, Stewart was invited to the University of Michigan to help Rogers McVaugh organise about 30,000 Indian plant specimens that had remained in storage at Michigan's herbarium since about 1910. After two years working on these specimens, Stewart began work on "An Annotated Catalogue of the Plants of Pakistan and Kashmir", published in 1972.

Among the honours bestowed upon Stewart for his work in Pakistan were the Kaiser-e-Hind (Emperor of India) gold medal (1938) and the Sitara-e-Imtiaz (Star of Distinction, 1961). He was made a foreign member of the Pakistan Academy of Sciences in 1983 and a member of the American Association for Advancement of Science in 1984. Stewart's first wife was Isabelle Darrow (d. 1953), with whom he had two daughters. He married Winifred Porter in 1954. Stewart died in Duarte, California, aged 103.

Sources:
S.I. Ali and A. Ghaffar, 1994, Pakistan Journal of Botany, 26(1): 1-2
M.G. Price, 1990, Contributions from the University of Michigan Herbarium, 17: 3-5
R.R. Stewart, 1979, "The First Plant Collectors in Kashmir and the Punjab", Taxon, 28: 5-6.
References
Brummitt, R.K. & Powell, C.E., Authors Pl. Names (1992): 617; Vegter, H.I., Index Herb. Coll. S (1986): 957;
Stewart, Ralph Randles (1890-1993)
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