Papers of Professor Peter Hadland Davis

The unsorted material is composed of: a catalogue and book on Wemyss ware (pottery); a plaque to Davis from Turkey in gratitude for hisFlora of Turkey and the east Aegean islands; childhood travel notes; certificate of merit from the Republic of Turkey in its 50th Anniversary year, and in recognition forFlora of Turkey and the east Aegean islands; estate accounts; wartime correspondence; material relating to his appointment to Chair; old passports; and, correspondence with Dwight Ripley and Rupert Barnaby.

Peter Hadland Davis was born in 1981. He came to Edinburgh University in 1945 after serving in Palestine and Egypt during the Second World War. He took a First Class Honours degree then a Ph.D. and was appointed to the academic staff. In addition, a 1963 D.Sc. thesis by Davis was entitledContributions to the flora of Turkey. During the War he had become interested in the plants and people of South West Asia and North Africa and so with the help of funding he began to research and produce his great work, theFlora of Turkey and the east Aegean islands, travelling extensively again in Turkey and North Africa. Davis was appointed Professor of Plant Taxonomy at Edinburgh University and was the Honorary Curator at the Royal Botanic Garden in the city. His publications includeFlora of Turkey and the east Aegean islands(1965-1988), with J. CullenThe identification of flowering plant families: including a key to those native and cultivated in north temperate regions, and with V. H. HeywoodPrinciples of angiosperm taxonomy(circa 1963). Professor Peter Hadland Davis died in 1992.

Generally open for consultation to bona fide researchers, but please contact repository for details in advance.

Material acquired from Steedman and Ramage W.S., July 1993, Accession no. E93.52.

Important finding aids generally are: the alphabetical Index to Manuscripts held at Edinburgh University Library, Special Collections and Archives, consisting of typed slips in sheaf binders and to which additions were made until 1987; and the Index to Accessions Since 1987.

Check the local Indexes for details of any additions.