Home > Archibald Menzies

Menzies was born in Perthshire. He studied botany and medicine in Edinburgh, and later became assistant to a surgeon in Caernarvon. He joined the Royal Navy and served on the Halifax Station in Nova Scotia.

Menzies (pronounced Ming-ess) was appointed surgeon on board HMS Prince of Wales, which was travelling round Cape HornCape Horn is often said to be the southernmost point of South America. It is located in the Tierra del Fuego archipelago. The southernmost point on the mainland is Cape Froward. The cape was first rounded on January 26, 1616 by a Dutch expedition of Wille to the northern Pacific. He collected a number of new plants on this voyage, and also ensured that none of the crew died of illness.

In 1790 Menzies was appointed as naturalist to accompany George VancouverGeorge Vancouver ( June 22, 1757 May 12, 1798) was an officer of the Royal Navy, and an explorer best known for his exploration of North America and the Pacific coast along Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia. He was born in King's Lynn, England. on his voyage around the world on HMS Discovery. When the surgeon fell ill Menzies took over his duties, and again not one man died of ill health.

After the voyage Menzies served with the Navy in the West Indies. He received the degree of M.D. at Aberdeen University in 1799. After retiring from the Navy he became a doctor and surgeon at Notting HillNotting Hill is a place in London, England in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. It is generally, and deservedly, known as one of the funky and trendy areas of the city, with swanky shopping and restaurants (notably, along Westbourne Grove), but, LondonLondon is the capital of the United Kingdom and of England, and with over seven million inhabitants in the Greater London area, is the second-most populous conurbation in Europe (after Moscow). From being Londinium the capital of the Roman province of Bri.

His name is commemorated in the scientific names of several of the plants he discovered, including Menziesia , a genus of shrubThe word 'bush' re-directs here; for alternate uses see Bush (disambiguation A shrub or bush is a horticultural rather than strictly botanical category of woody plant, distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and lower height, usually less than 6 ms in the Ericaceae, and the Douglas-fir Pseudotsuga menziesii, the most important tree in western North America.