Prance, Ghillean T. 1937- (G.T. Prance, Ghillean Tolmie Prance, Ghillean Tolmie Prance)

PERSONAL:

Born July 13, 1937, in Brandeston, England; son of Basil Camden (in Indian civil service) and Margaret Hope (a writer) Prance; married July 13, 1961; wife's name Anne Elizabeth; children: Rachel Julia, Sarah Elizabeth. Ethnicity: "Caucasian." Education: Oxford University, B.A., 1960, D.Phil., 1963, M.A., 1965. Religion: Protestant. Hobbies and other interests: Birdwatching, flower stamps.

ADDRESSES:

Home—Lyme Regis, Dorset, England. Office—School of Plant Sciences, University of Reading, Whiteknights, Reading, England. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER:

New York Botanical Garden, Bronx, NY, research assistant, 1963-66, associate curator, 1966-68, curator, 1968-75, director of research, 1975-81, vice president, 1977-81, senior vice president and director of Institute of Economic Botany, 1981-88; Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew, Richmond, England, director, 1988-99. University of Reading, Reading, England, visiting professor, 1988—, scientific director of Eden Project, 1999—. Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia, director of graduate studies, 1973-75. International Tree Foundation, president, 2005—; Bentham-Moxon Trust, chair of board of trustees, 1988-99; member of board of governors, Lovaine Trust Co. Ltd., 1989-99, and Malvern College, 1993—; member of board of trustees, Au Sable Institute of Environmental Studies, 1984-2006, Rainforest Alliance, 1988-98, Margaret Mee Amazon Trust, 1988-98, Worldwide Fund for Nature International, 1989-93, and Horniman Museum, 1990-99; member of New Island Conservation Trust, 1996—, Global Diversity Foundation, 1999—, and Brazilian Atlantic Rainforest Trust, 2000—; Bioregional Development Group, patron. Guest on television and radio programs in the United States, England, Japan, and Brazil.

MEMBER:

Royal Society (fellow), Royal Horticultural Society (member of council, 1990-2000), Royal Geographical Society (fellow), Institute of Biology (fellow; president, 2000-02), Organisation for Flora Neotropica (executive director, 1975-88), American Association for the Advancement of Science (fellow), Leatherhead and District Countryside Protection Society (president, 1992-99), Linnean Society of London (fellow; president, 1997-2000). Patron Surrey Wildlife Trust, 1999.

AWARDS, HONORS:

Distinguished Service Award, New York Botanical Garden, 1986; Henry Shaw Medal, Missouri Botanical Garden, 1988; Linnean Medal, 1990; International Cosmos Prize, 1993; Patrons Medal, Royal Geographical Society, 1994; Fil.Dr., University of Göteborg, 1983; D.Sc., University of Kent at Canterbury, Kingston University, and University of Portsmouth, 1994, University of St. Andrews, 1995, University of Bergen, 1996, Florida International University and University of Sheffield, 1997, Herbert H. Lehman College of the City University of New York and University of Liverpool, 1998, University of Glasgow and University of Plymouth, 1999, and University of Keele and University of Exeter, 2000; Victoria Medal of Honor, Royal Horticultural Society, 1999; David Fairchild Medal for Plant Exploration, 2000; Distinguished Economic Botanist Award, Society for Economic Botany, 2002; Graziela Maciel Barroso Prize, 2004.

WRITINGS:

Chrysobalanaceae, Hafner Publishing (New York, NY), 1972.

Dichapetalaceae, Hafner Publishing (New York, NY), 1972.

(With Marlene Freitas da Silva) Caryocaraceae, Hafner Publishing (New York, NY), 1973.

(Under name Ghillean Tolmie Prance; with Marlene Freitas da Silva) Arvores de Manaus, Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia (Manaus, Brazil), 1975.

(Under name Ghillean Tolmie Prance) Algumas flores da Amazônia, Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia (Manaus, Brazil), 1976.

(Editor, with Thomas S. Elias) Extinction Is Forever: Threatened and Endangered Species of Plants in the Americas and Their Significance in Ecosystems Today and in the Future, New York Botanical Garden (Bronx, NY), 1977.

(With Scott A. Mori) The Actinomorphic-Flowered New World Lecythidaceae (Asteranthos, Gustavia, Grias, Allantoma & Cariniana), New York Botanical Garden (Bronx, NY), 1979.

(With wife, Anne E. Prance) The Amazon Forest and River, Barrons' Educational (Woodbury, NY), 1980.

(Editor) Biological Diversification in the Tropics, Columbia University Press (New York, NY), 1982.

(Under name G.T. Prance; editor, with J.A. Kallunki) Ethnobotany in the Neotropics, New York Botanical Garden (Bronx, NY), 1984.

(Editor, with Thomas E. Lovejoy) Amazonia: Key Environments, Pergamon (Elmsford, NY), 1985.

(Editor) Tropical Forests and the World Atmosphere, Westview Press (Boulder, CO), 1986.

(Under name Ghillean Tolmie Prance) Leaves: The Formation, Characteristics, and Uses of Hundreds of Leaves Found in All Parts of the World, photographs by Kjell B. Sandved, Crown (New York, NY), 1986.

(Under name G.T. Prance; editor, with T.C. Whitmore) Biogeography and Quaternary History in Tropical America, Clarendon Press (Oxford, England), 1987.

(Under name Ghillean Tolmie Prance) Manual de botânica econômica do Maranhão, Universidade Federal de Maranhão (São Luís de Maranhão, Brazil), 1988.

Wildflowers for All Seasons, paintings by Anna Vojtech, Crown (New York, NY), 1989.

(Editor and photographer) John C. Yungjohann, White Gold: The Diary of a Rubber Cutter in the Amazon, 1906-1916, Synergetic Press (Oracle, AZ), 1989.

(Editor, with Michael J. Balick) New Directions in the Study of Plants and People: Research Contributions from the Institute of Economic Botany, New York Botanical Garden (Bronx, NY), 1990.

(Editor, with Gerhard Gottsberger) Reproductive Biology and Evolution of Tropical Woody Angiosperms, New York Botanical Garden (Bronx, NY), 1990.

(Editor, with C.B. Dewitt) Missionary Earthkeeping, Mercer University Press (Macon, GA), 1992.

(Author of text) Sue Cunningham, Out of the Amazon: Photographs of the Brazilian Rainforest, Her Majesty's Stationery Office (London, England), 1992.

(With Anne E. Prance) Bark: The Formation, Characteristics, and Uses of Bark around the World, photographs by Kjell Sandved, Timber Press (Beaverton, OR), 1993.

(Under name G.T. Prance; with Derek J. Chadwick and Joan Marsh) Ethnobotany and the Search for New Drugs, John Wiley (New York, NY), 1994.

The Earth under Threat: A Christian Perspective, Wild Goose Publications (Glasgow, Scotland), 1996.

(Author of text) Rainforests of the World: Water, Fires, Earth, and Air, Crown (New York, NY), 1997.

(With H.C.F. Hopkins, C.R. Huxley, and others) The Biological Monograph, Royal Botanical Gardens (Richmond, England), 1998.

(Under name G.T. Prance; editor, with D.M. Newberry and T.H. Clutton-Brock) Changes and Disturbances in Tropical Rainforest in South-East Asia, Imperial College Press (London, England), 2000.

Contributor of more than 400 articles to scientific journals and popular magazines.

SIDELIGHTS:

Ghillean T. Prance once told CA: "Thirty years of field work and botanical expeditions in Amazonia have led me from a career in basic botanical research into conservation and environmental work, as deforestation has increased. My passion now is protection of the environment and the preservation of biodiversity."