- George Claridge Druce
George Claridge Druce, MA, LLD, JP, FRS, FLS (
23 May 1850 –29 February 1932 ) was an Englishbotanist and a Mayor ofOxford .G. Claridge Druce was born at
Potterspury onWatling Street inNorthamptonshire . He was the illegitimate son of Jane Druce, born 1815 inBuckinghamshire .He went to school in the village of
Yardley Gobion . At 16, he was apprenticed to P. Jeyes & Co., apharmaceutical firm inNorthampton . In 1872, he passed exams to become a pharmacist. His main interest wasbotany . In 1876, he was involved in the foundation of theNorthampton Natural History Society .In June 1879, Druce moved to
Oxford and set up his own chemist's shop, Druce & Co., at 118 High Street, which continued until his death. He was one of the first in Oxford to have a telephone. He also featured as a shopkeeper in the Oxford novel "Zuleika Dobson " byMax Beerbohm .In 1880, Druce helped to found the
Ashmolean Natural History Society of Oxfordshire , originally established as the Ashmolean Society in 1828. It was merged with the Oxfordshire Natural History Society by Druce in 1901. [http://freespace.virgin.net/frances.watkins/rpg/ANHSO.htm] In 1886 he published "The Flora of Oxfordshire", in 1887 "The Flora of Berkshire" and in 1926 "The Flora of Buckinghamshire". He was one of very few people to write a flora for more than one county.In 1889, he was awarded the degree of honorary MA by the
University of Oxford and in 1895 he was appointed Fielding Curator in the Department of Botany at the University.Claridge Druce served on
Oxford City Council from 1892 until his death, and was Chairman of the Public Health Committee. He served as Sheriff of Oxford during 1896–97. He presented the City of Oxford with the Sheriff's gold chain and badge, kept in the Town Hall, to commemorate theDiamond Jubilee ofQueen Victoria in 1897.Druce served as Mayor of Oxford in 1900–01. A stone marking the city boundary at the top of Cuckoo Lane in the east Oxford suburbHeadington was erected at the time and is engraved with his name. In 1920, Druce was made anAlderman and a portrait in his robes can be seen in the Council Chamber.He was a
Fellow of the Royal Society and aJustice of the Peace .In 1909, Druce moved to 9
Crick Road . He named the house "Yardley Lodge", after the village in which he spent his youth. He died at his home aged 82 and was buried inHolywell Cemetery .References
* [http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=1479-571X(193212)1:1%3C12:GCD1%3E2.0.CO;2-J George Claridge Druce — 1850–1932] . "Obituary Notices of Fellows of the
Royal Society ", Vol. 1, No. 1, pp. 12–14 (December 1932).
* [http://oxforddnb.com/index/101032898/ Druce, George Claridge (1850–1932), botanist] , "Oxford Dictionary of National Biography " (2004). [http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/ref:odnb/32898 doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/32898]External links
* [http://www.headington.org.uk/oxon/mayors/1836_1962/druce_george_1900.htm George Claridge Druce, Mayor of Oxford]
* [http://herbariaunited.org/collector/2314/ Collector: George Claridge Druce]
* [http://herbariaunited.org/collector/1633/ Druce Herbarium, Oxford]
* [http://www.robsplants.com/plants/GeranOxoni.php Geranium x oxonianum 'Claridge Druce']
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