Nicholas Polunin

Nicholas Polunin
Born
Nicholas Vladimir Polunin

(1909-06-26)26 June 1909
Checkendon, Oxfordshire, UKGBI
Died8 December 1997(1997-12-08) (aged 88)
Geneva, Switzerland
Education
Occupations
Spouses
  • Helen Catherine Adeline Lovat Fraser
    ​
    ​
    (m. 1939⁠–⁠1947)​
  • Helen Eugenie Campbell
    ​
    ​
    (m. 1948)​
Children4
Parents
Relatives
Scientific career
Polunin

Nicholas Vladimir Polunin (26 June 1909 – 8 December 1997) was a British botanist, environmentalist, arctic explorer and writer.

Biography

Polunin was born on 26 June 1909 in Checkendon, Oxfordshire to Vladimir Polunin, a scenographer, set designer and educator, and Elizabeth Polunin, an artist and theatre designer. The eldest of four siblings, Polunin was brother of the botanist Oleg Polunin (1914–1985), the physician Ivan Polunin (1920–2010), and the piano teacher Tanya Polunin (1921–2009). Educated at Latymer Upper School, Polunin later enrolled at Christ Church, Oxford in 1928 to study botany and ecology. Graduating with his Bachelor's in 1932, Polunin later earnt his Master's from Yale University in 1934.

Personal life

On 26 August 1939, married Helen Catherine Adeline Lovat Fraser (c. 1917–1973) a writer and the daughter of Claud Lovat Fraser and Grace Inez Crawford. Polunin and Fraser had one son before later dissolving their marriage in 1947. Polunin later married Helen Eugenie Campbell on 3 January 1948, with whom he had three children.

On 8 December 1997, Polunin died in Geneva, Switzerland.

Publications

The standard author abbreviation Polunin is used to indicate this person as the author when citing a botanical name.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Hattersley-Smith, G. (23 September 2004). "Polunin, Nicholas Vladimir (1909–1997), botanist". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/68834. Retrieved 25 June 2026. (Subscription, Wikipedia Library access or UK public library membership required.)
  2. ↑ Natural History Museum. "Polunin, Nicholas Vladimir (1909–1997)". Global Plants. JSTOR. Retrieved 25 June 2026.
  3. 1 2 "Vladimir Polunin designer". Ben Uri Research Unit. Ben Uri Gallery & Museum. Retrieved 25 June 2026.
  4. 1 2 Westing, Arthur (16 December 1997). "Obituary: Nicholas Polunin". The Independent. Retrieved 7 July 2026.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Huxley, Thomas (23 September 2004). "Polunin, Oleg Vladimirovitch (1914–1985), botanist and traveller". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/31559. Retrieved 7 July 2026. (Subscription, Wikipedia Library access or UK public library membership required.)
  6. ↑ Rutherston, A.D.; Haill, Catherine (21 May 2009). "Fraser, (Claud) Lovat (1890–1921), artist and designer". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/33249. Retrieved 25 June 2026. (Subscription, Wikipedia Library access or UK public library membership required.)
  7. ↑ International Plant Names Index. Polunin.