Professor John Hutton Balfour, 1808-1884. Photograph by H.N. King, Bath. Regius Keeper at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh between 1845 and 1879. John Hutton Balfour was born in Edinburgh on Sept 15th 1808. His parents wanted him to go into the Church and had him educated accordingly, but in 1826, Balfour attended a lecture at the Botanic Garden in Edinburgh given by Robert Graham (who was Regius Keeper here at the time) and he was hooked! Against his parents’ wishes (his father had been an army surgeon) Balfour chose a career in medicine as he felt that best suited to continuing his botanical studies. He graduated from Edinburgh University with an M.D. in 1832, becoming a fellow of the College of Surgeons a year or two later (1834 I think – my references seem a bit dodgy). In 1840 he began teaching a summer course in Botany at the University of Edinburgh which was very successful – he did the same again the year later.

In 1841, William Jackson Hooker vacated the Chair of Botany at Glasgow University to take up the Directorship of Kew Botanic Gardens in London – Balfour became the successful applicant to replace him – this meant he was able to give up his medical practice at 15 Dundas Street in Edinburgh – the address from which he founded the Botanical Society of Edinburgh in 1836 – and start teaching Botany full time.

In 1845, the death of Robert Graham left the dual appointment of Professor of Botany at Edinburgh University and Regius Keeper of the RBGE vacant. There was a bitter contest between John Hutton Balfour and William Jackson Hooker’s son Joseph Dalton Hooker for the post with Balfour eventually emerging triumphant. J.D. Hooker eventually replaced his father at Kew.

John Hutton Balfour was Regius Keeper here from 1845 to 1879 during which time he expanded the size and scope of the RBGE, he improved the teaching facilities, took between 2000 and 3000 students on botanical excursions, built the Palm House and founded the first dedicated botanical library here which is now the second largest botanical library next to Kew’s.

He continued living in Inverleith House within the grounds of the RBGE until his death on the 11th February 1884.

Iconographic Collections
Keywords: Botany; portrait photographs; Balfour; Portraiture; H. N. King