British botanist at University College London from 1945. Peter Bell was a leader in the study of reproductive biology of ferns and gymnosperms and a pioneering electron microscopist. He was born in Whitstable, Kent, where his father was a market gardener, and graduated from the University of Cambridge with a first class degree in natural sciences.

Joining University College London in 1945 Bell developed a particular interest in the pteridophytes Lycopodium and Selaginella. In his research he also aimed to understand the changes in gene expression that arise through the generations of ferns as they alternate between sporophytes and gametophytes. When he began his investigations, however, he did not have the advantages of molecular biology to call upon but instead used immunocytochemistry and autoradiography. And yet, as head of the botany and microbiology department at U.C.L. (and one-time chair of the science faculty) he became quickly conversant with new technologies as they arose.

While much at home among his numerous microscopes (he was especially fond of German equipment such as Siemens electron microscopes, and the German language itself), Bell also travelled and botanised widely. He was known to make the statement, "Only by visiting the tropics can we see what plants can really do," though he was equally fond of the mountainous regions of Europe and North America. Bell authored the widely-read Diversity of Green Plants which has been through several editions.

Raised as a Quaker, Bell was a vehement pacifist. In 1960 he was served a court summons for refusing to pay part of his income tax which he had calculated would be used by the government to build nuclear armaments.

Sources:
R. Pennel and H. Dickinson, 2009, "Peter Robert Bell, 1920-2009", Plant Science Bulletin,, 55(2): 55-57.