William Roxburgh: The Founding Father of Indian Botany

Born in the mid 18th-century, William Roxburgh was brought up in the centre of the Edinburgh Enlightenment, with all the patronage and intellectual curiosity that this entailed. In 1793 he was appointed as the first paid Superintendent of the Calcutta Botanic Garden. Always, he looked for ways to improve the lot of native workers, to reduce the impact of frequent famines.