Unveiled on August 23rd at 2 Atholl Place, our fourth plaque concerns Francis Buchanan White who was a founder member and the first President of Perthshire Society of Natural Science (PSNS). He was born here in Perth and studied medicine at Edinburgh University. His passion from childhood was the study of nature. He was PSNS President for 13 years, Secretary for 2 years and editor of its publications for 13 years. White was an expert in hemiptera, the group of insects which includes shield bugs and water boatmen. He described 130 species new to science. From 1881, he devoted himself to botany and became an expert on British willows. He was a pioneer in biological recording, the careful gathering of data on where plants and animals are found in order to understand their distribution. White’s major work was the Flora of Perthshire, a detailed account of the plants which occur naturally in the county. He organised collecting trips and PSNS excursions to gather specimens and record the distribution of plants for this work. Dr White was elected in 1868, a Fellow of the Royal Entomological Society and in 1873, a Fellow of the Linnean Society.
2 Atholl Place was built in 1797 with all the houses on Atholl Place being designed specifically for doctors, with consulting rooms on the lower floors and accommodation for their families upstairs: At the time, Atholl Place was Perth’s equivalent of London’s Harley Street.
The black and white photos shown here are all courtesy of Perth Museum and Art Gallery.
