Vaughan, J(ohn) G(riffith) 1926–2005

OBITUARY NOTICE—See index for CA sketch: Born May 5, 1926, in Merthyr Tydfil, Glamorgan, Wales; died May 17, 2005, in Petersham, Surrey, England. Botanist, educator, and author. Vaughan was a retired professor at King's College, London whose research and writings focused primarily on plant seed composition and proteins. He was a graduate of the universities of Manchester and London, earning a Dip.Ed. in 1947 and a D.Sc. in 1973 at the former and an M.Sc. in 1950 and Ph.D. in 1953 at the latter. In his early career, while still pursuing his higher education, he worked as a schoolmaster at Hele's School in Devon, England. After completing his master's degree at the University of London, he lectured there and at Chelsea College until 1959. He then joined the faculty at Queen Elizabeth College, London, which later merged in 1959 with King's College. An expert at identifying plant species and subspecies, he specialized in particular on the genus Brassica, which includes a variety of plants ranging from cabbages to mustard. His use of electrophoresis helped researchers identify plant proteins and discover which plants were related to one another. In addition to this research, Vaughan also helped classify extinct plant species by their seed fossil remains. In his later research, he became increasingly interested in food plants. Named Professor of Food Microscopy in 1986, Vaughan retired from the University of London in 1991. He was the author, coauthor, or editor of several botany books, including The Structure and Utilization of Oil Seeds (1970), Seed Proteins (1983), The New Oxford Book of Food Plants (1997), and his last book, The Oxford Book of Health Foods (2003), written with Pat Judd.

OBITUARIES AND OTHER SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Daily Telegraph (London, England), June 20, 2005.

Independent (London, England), August 5, 2005, p. 52.