British medical doctor. Richard Frank Rand was born in Plaistow, Essex, qualified in medicine at Edinburgh University, and is remembered for his invention, "Rand's Kicker", an anti-malarial treatment consisting of quinine and cheap South African brandy. Early in his career, as a newly qualified doctor in the West Indies, he had his hearing impaired by a severe attack of yellow fever.
He arrived in South Africa in 1889 and was engaged by Cecil Rhodes as a medical officer on the Pioneer Company's expedition from Macloutsie to Fort Salisbury. He stayed with Rhodes' British South Africa Company until 1892 and was a member of Major Forbes's expeditionary party to Mozambique. After resigning he became the first private practitioner and hospital surgeon in Salisbury, although before long he relocated to South Africa. Returning on business (1897-1898) he took the opportunity to collect material on the route between Bulawayo and Salisbury, which he sent, accompanied by field notes, to the British Museum.
During the Second Boer War, he served in the Medical Corps, and after demobilization collected in the vicinity of Johannesburg. In 1908 he made another attempt to settle in Salisbury but ill health forced his return to England two years later. During this short period, however, he managed to add to his botanical collection and was also responsible for naming many of Salisbury's avenues after famous European explorers of Africa.
During the First World War he served with the South African Medical Corps in South West Africa, and later lived for some time in the Transvaal. In 1926 he collected around Miami (now in Zimbabwe) while visiting the area on mining business. He eventually retired to Brightlingsea in Essex. The London Journal of Botany published his "Wayside observations" from various field trips in Zimbabwe and South Africa between 1904 and 1926. Many species have been named after him including Moraea randii Rendle, Holothrix randii Rendle, Melhania randii Baker f., Buchnera randii S. Moore, Lopholoena randii S. Moore and Harveya randii Hiern.
Sources:
M. Gunn and L.E. Codd, 1981, Botanical exploration of Southern Africa: 289
J. Rendle, 1937, London Journal of Botany, 75: 79
H. Wild, 1960, Biographical Notes on Botanical Collections in the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, Comptes Rendu de la Réunion Pléniere de l'Aetfat, 4: 161-173.
