William Forsyth

Today is the birthday of William Forsyth, who was born on this day in 1804.

Forsyth was a Scottish botanist. He trained as a gardener at the Physic Garden and was an apprentice to Philip Miller, the chief gardener. In 1771, Forsyth himself took over the principal gardening position.
Three years later, he built one of the very first rock gardens with over 40 tons of stone collected from the land around the Tower of London and even some pieces of lava imported from Iceland. The effort was noted for posterity; the garden was a bust.
Forsyth was also the founding member of the Royal Horticultural Society. The genus, Forsythia, is named in his honor.