Gibbons, E. Joan (1902–1988)

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Gibbons, E. Joan (1902–1988)

English botanist. Born 1902 in Essex, England; died Dec 2, 1988, in Lincolnshire, England; dau. of Rev. Thomas Gibbons.

Joined the Lincolnshire Naturalists' Union at age 18, serving as their botanical secretary for nearly 50 years, beginning in 1936; was also its 1st woman president (1939) and elected for 2nd term after her 1975 publication on Lincolnshire flora; joined the Botanical Society of the British Isles (BSBI, 1946); recorded flora for 2 Lincolnshire vice-counties and created a record of county flora (by 1960); served as a founding member of the Council of the Lincolnshire Naturalists' Trust (1948), which focused on conservation efforts and rescued, among other species, Iris spuria; served as the assistant county secretary of Girl Guide Association (28 years) and as a county secretary for handicapped guides; was a Linnean Society fellow (1969–88); was the 1st woman to write a full flora account of an English county, The Flora of Lincolnshire (1975).