William Ick
{{short description|Welsh botanist and geologist}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox person
| name = William Ick
| image = Photograph of William Ick.jpg
| caption = Portrait of William Ick (Birmingham Museums, accession number 1964F109)
| birth_date = {{Birth year|1800}}
| birth_place = Newport, Shropshire, United Kingdom
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1844|09|23|1800|df=yes}}
| occupation = Botanist, geologist
}}
File:Handwriting of William Ick.jpg
William Ick (1800 – 23 September 1844) was an English botanist and geologist.{{cite book|last1=Kent|first1=D H|last2=Allen|first2=D E|title=British and Irish Herbaria|date=1984|location=London}} In 1837 he won a prize offered by the United Committee of the Birmingham Botanical and Warwickshire Floral Societies for the best herbarium, known as a {{lang|la|hortus siccus}}, of native plants collected within {{Convert|10|miles||abbr=}} of Birmingham within a one-year period from 1 August 1836.{{cite book|last1=Cadbury|first1=Dorothy|title=A Computer-Mapped Flora of Warwickshire|date=1971}}
Early life
Ick was born at Newport in Shropshire in 1800. In 1803 his family moved to Birmingham. His father was a dealer in skins and hides.{{cite book|last1=Maskew|first1=Roger|title=The Flora of Worcestershire|date=2014|ref=Maskew}}
Education
He was awarded a Ph.D. in Geology from a German university.
Career
Ick was a tutor at a school near Warwick before becoming the first curator of the Birmingham Philosophical Institution.
Contribution to botany
In 1835 the United Committee of the Birmingham Botanical and Warwickshire Floral Societies offered a prize for the best herbarium of native plants collected within a 10 miles radius of central Birmingham between 1 August 1836 and 1 August 1837. Ick won this prize with a herbarium of around 320 pressed plants and published his findings.{{cite journal|last1=Ick|first1=William|title=Remarkable plants found growing in the vicinity of Birmingham in the year 1836|journal=The Analyst|date=1836|volume=6|pages=20–28|url=https://archive.org/stream/analystaquarter01mammgoog#page/n27/mode/2up}} In 1948 Ick's herbarium was presented to Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery after being lost for over a century
References
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Category:19th-century British geologists