Tour Scotland photograph of the Memorial to David Douglas, the famous botanist, in the graveyard of Scone Old Parish Church, Scone, Perthshire, Scotland. David Douglas was born on the 25th of June 1799, and died on the 12th of July 1834. He was a Scottish botanist. He worked as a gardener, and explored the Scottish highlands, North America, and Hawaii, where he died. The son of a stonemason, he was born in the village of Scone north-east of Perth, Scotland. He attended Kinnoull School and upon leaving he found work as an apprentice gardener in the estate of the 3rd Earl of Mansfield at Scone Palace. He spent seven years at this position before leaving to attend college in Perth to learn more of the scientific and mathematical aspects of plant culture. After a further spell of working in Fife (during which time he had access to a library of botanical and zoological books) he moved to the Botanical Gardens of Glasgow and attended botany lectures at the University of Glasgow. The Professor of Botany was greatly impressed with him and took him on an expedition to the Highlands before recommending him to the Royal Horticultural Society of London. Although the common name Douglas fir refers to him, the tree's scientific name, Pseudotsuga menziesii, honors a rival botanist, Archibald Menzies.
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