William Arthur was a Scottish botanist who was appointed as King's Botanist in 1715 because of his political connections, despite having no botanical qualifications. Shortly after this, Arthur became involved in the First Jacobite Rising, though there is still no agreement on whether or not this was fair. He fled to Italy, where he died in 1716 "from a surfeit of figs."[1]
References[]
- ↑ Balfour, Isaac Bayley (1913). "A sketch of the Professors of Botany in Edinburgh from 1670 until 1887". In Oliver, Francis Wall (ed.). Makers of British Botany. Cambridge University Press.