The extraordinary diaries of 19th-century plant hunter and Christ's alumnus Frank Kingdon-Ward, held by Christ's Old Library, inspire a free talk for the Cambridge Science Festival, Thursday 16th March 6-7pm. Come and join us, no need to book!
Frank Kingdon-Ward (1885-1958), alumnus of Christ's College, knew more than most about extreme conditions in his career as an explorer and plant-hunter in Southeast Asia. It is partly due to his bravery and resilience that plants as diverse as the rhododendron, magnolia and jasmine now flower in gardens around Britain. Over the course of a 45-year career Kingdon-Ward discovered a staggering 23,000 plants and a variety of animals. He was a man of almost unbelievable tenacity, surviving a range of mishaps on his 24 plant-hunting journeys. Whether it was impaling himself on a bamboo spike in Burma, camping in Tibetan foothills a few miles from the epicentre of an earthquake, or being crushed in his tent by a falling tree, Kingdon-Ward remained unfazed by the many dangers that confronted him during his journeys. Our speaker, Julian Doberski, former lecture in Ecology at Anglia Ruskin University and currently a volunteer guide at the Cambridge Botanic Garden, will introduce this fascinating and eccentric man.