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William Curtis (1746-1799)
William Curtis began as an apothecary before turning his attention to botany and other natural history subjects. He was appointed demonstrator of plants at the Chelsea Physic Garden and established a garden at his home in Brompton in 1789. He published the Flora Londinensis, which was devoted to plants growing in London, but found a limited market for this venture. He went on to publish The Botanical Magazine, which featured hand-colored plates of new exotic imports by artists such as James Sowerby, Sydenham Edwards, and William Kilburn. He said that the Flora brought him praise while the Botanical Magazine brought him pudding. The genus Curtisia is named in his honor.
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