Hiram Wild | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 15 March 1917 |
| Died | 28 April 1982 (aged 65) |
| Nationality | British |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Botany |
| Institutions | Imperial College London |
Hiram Wild (15 March 1917 - 28 April 1982) was an English botanist who worked in Southern Rhodesia. The standard author abbreviation Wild is used to indicate this person as the author when citing a botanical name.[1]
Wild studied at Imperial College, University of London. In 1945, he wrote his Ph.D. thesis in which he examined the lettuce pathogen, Bremia lactucae. From 1945, he worked as the government botanist in Southern Rhodesia, and soon became head of the Government Herbarium of Southern Rhodesia. In 1960, Wild started the Herbarium botanical journal 'Kirkia', named for John Kirk (1832–1922), African explorer and companion of David Livingstone. In the ensuing years, he worked as its chief editor. Wild, along with Arthur Wallis Exell, initiated the Flora Zambesiaca project, a series of monographs on the flora of Africa. In 1965, Wild was appointed professor at Salisbury University College, now known as the University of Zimbabwe.
In 1980, due to ill-health, he resigned as professor at Salisbury and moved to Cape Town, South Africa.