James Drummond (botanist) - Early Life

Early Life

James Drummond was born in Inverarity, near Forfar, Angus, Scotland. He was baptised on 8 January 1787. His father, Thomas Drummond, was a gardener at Fotheringham estate. Little is known of his early life, but he certainly followed the usual course of apprenticeship leading to his "qualification" as a gardener. In 1808, he was employed by Mr Dickson (most probably George Dickson of Leith Walk, Edinburgh). In the mid-1808, Drummond (aged 21) he was appointed curator of the botanic garden that was being established by the Cork Institution, in the city of Cork, Ireland. At the time this was a government funded garden, one purpose of which was the testing and propagation of plants for the benefit of the farmers of southern Ireland. In addition to his horticultural duties, Drummond discovered several species of plant that were previously not known to occur in Ireland. In 1810 Drummond was elected an Associate of the Linnean Society of London. That year he married Sarah Mackintosh, with whom he would have six children.