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Nicholas Polunin

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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.[1][2]

Biography

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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.[1][3][4] 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).[1][3][4][5] Educated at Latymer Upper School, Polunin later enrolled at Christ Church, Oxford in 1928 to study botany and ecology.[1][5] Graduating with his Bachelor's in 1932, Polunin later earnt his Master's from Yale University in 1934.[1][5]

Personal life

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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.[1][5][6] Polunin and Fraser had one son before later dissolving their marriage in 1947.[1][5] Polunin later married Helen Eugenie Campbell on 3 January 1948, with whom he had three children.[1][5]

On 8 December 1997, Polunin died in Geneva, Switzerland.[1][5]

Publications

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  • Polunin, Vladimir (1931). Russian Waters.[1]
  • Polunin, Vladimir (1932). The Isle of Auks. London: Edward Arnold & co.
  • Polunin, Vladimir (1949). Arctic Unfolding. Experiences And Observations During A Canadian Airborne Expedition In Northern Ungava, The Northwest Territories, And Their Arctic Archipelago. London: Hutchinson & Co.
  • Polunin, Vladimir, ed. (1972). The Environmental Future.Proceedings of the First International Conference on Environmental Future, Held in Finland from 27 June to 3 July 1971. London: Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 9781349014583.
  • Polunin, Vladimir (1990). Maintenance of the Biosphere.[1]
The standard author abbreviation Polunin is used to indicate this person as the author when citing a botanical name.[7]

References

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  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.


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