William Ick

Portrait of William Ick (Birmingham Museums, accession number 1964F109)
The frontispiece, catalogue and one herbarium sheet from Ick's herbarium, held in Birmingham Museums
Sample of Ick's handwriting on a herbarium sheet in Birmingham Museums

William Ick (1800 – 23 September 1844) was an English botanist and geologist.[1] In 1837 he won a prize offered by the United Committee of the Birmingham Botanical and Warwickshire Floral Societies for the best herbarium, known as a hortus siccus, of native plants collected within 10 miles of Birmingham within a one-year period from 1 August 1836.[2]

Early life

Ick was born at Newport in Shropshire in 1800. In 1803 his family moved to Birmingham. His father was a dealer in skins and hides.[3]

Education

He was awarded a Ph.D. in Geology from a German university.[2]

Career

Ick was a tutor at a school near Warwick before becoming the first curator of the Birmingham Philosophical Institute.[2]

Contribution to botany

In 1835 the United Committee of the Birmingham Botanical and Warwickshire Floral Societies offered a prize for the best herbarium of native plants collected within a 10 miles radius of central Birmingham between 1 August 1836 and 1 August 1837.[2] Ick won this prize with a herbarium of around 320 pressed plants and published his findings.[4] In 1948 Ick's herbarium was presented to Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery after being lost for over a century[2]

References

  1. ↑ Kent, D H; Allen, D E (1984). British and Irish Herbaria. London.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Cadbury, Dorothy (1971). A Computer-Mapped Flora of Warwickshire.
  3. ↑ Maskew, Roger (2014). The Flora of Worcestershire.
  4. ↑ Ick, William (1836). "Remarkable plants found growing in the vicinity of Birmingham in the year 1836". The Analyst. 6: 20–28.
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