Frances Margaret Leighton, Date of Birth, Place of Birth, Date of Death

Frances Margaret Leighton

South African botanist

Date of Birth: 08-Mar-1909

Place of Birth: King William's Town, Eastern Cape, South Africa

Date of Death: 08-Jan-2006

Profession: botanist

Nationality: South Africa, Australia

Zodiac Sign: Pisces

Frances Margaret Leighton (8 March 1909 King William's Town – 8 January 2006 Blairgowrie, Victoria) was a South African botanist and educator.
After graduating from Rhodes University with her M.Sc degree in 1931, she worked at the Bolus Herbarium until 1947.
Her primary research interests were focused on monocots, and her work impacted the Ornithogalum and Agapanthus. After marrying fellow botanist William Edwyn Isaac in 1936, the couple had three children.
In the 1950s, Leighton was politically active in the Black Sash movement, protesting against Apartheid.
After moving to Nairobi in 1961, she studied sea grasses along the East African coast.
Leighton and her husband eventually retired to Mornington Peninsula in Australia, where Leighton became involved with community environmental movements and was elected an honorary botanist by the 'Society for the Protection of Indigenous Flora and Fauna of Australia'.
Plants named in Leighton's honour include Delosperma leightoniae Lavis, Mesembryanthemum leightoniae L.Bolus, Lampranthus francesiae H.E.K.Hartmann, Bergeranthus leightoniae L.Bolus.