Harold Basil Christian, Date of Birth, Place of Birth, Date of Death

    

Harold Basil Christian

Date of Birth: 28-Oct-1871

Place of Birth: Port Elizabeth, Eastern Cape, South Africa

Date of Death: 12-May-1950

Profession: botanist, mining engineer

Nationality: South Africa

Zodiac Sign: Scorpio


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About Harold Basil Christian

  • Harold Basil Christian (28 October 1871 – 12 May 1950) was a South African-born Rhodesian farmer, horticulturist, and botanist.
  • Christian attended Eton College in the United Kingdom, where he was a distinguished athlete.
  • He served in the Imperial Light Horse of the British Army during the Second Boer War, during which he fought in the Siege of Ladysmith.
  • In the decade after the war, he worked in what is now South Africa for De Beers and later as an engineer for a mining company.
  • In 1911, Christian moved to Rhodesia (today Zimbabwe).
  • There, he purchased a sizable farm, which he named Ewanrigg.
  • He was best known for his study and cultivation of aloe on his extensive estate, which was donated to the state upon his death and became a national park. Christian initially attempted to grow imported European plants on his farm, but these tree species, which tend to be conifers, were not well-suited to the region's heat, dryness, and low altitude.
  • In 1916, after it proved impossible to remove an unsightly rock from a spacious lawn in front of the house, Christian took an Aloe cameronii from a nearby hill and planted it in front of the stone.
  • He was very impressed when the aloe flowered the next year despite not having been watered, and decided to focus thereafter on aloes rather than imported trees.
  • During the 1930s, he expanded his garden and publishing his research on aloes in periodicals like the Rhodesian Agricultural Journal.
  • Over the years, he became recognized by botanists around the world as an authority on African aloe species.
  • One species was named Aloe christianii in his honor.
  • In his later years, Christian focused on the cultivation of cycads as well.

Read more at Wikipedia

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