Oleg Polunin
Oleg Polunin | |
|---|---|
Олег Полунин | |
| Born | Oleg Vladimirovitch Polunin 28 November 1914 |
| Died | 1 July 1985 (aged 70) Godalming, Surrey, England. UK |
| Education | Magdalen College, Oxford, 1937 |
| Occupations | |
| Known for | Flowers of Europe (1969) |
| Spouse |
Lorna Mary Polunin (m. 1943) |
| Children | 2 |
| Parents |
|
| Relatives |
|
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Botany |
| O. V. Polunin | |
Oleg Vladimirovitch Polunin (Russian: Олег Владимирович Полунин; 28 November 1914 – 1 July 1985) was a British botanist, traveller and educator.[1]
Early life and education
[edit]Polunin was born Oleg Vladimirovitch Polunin on 28 November 1914 in Reading, Berkshire to a Russian father and a British mother.[1] Polunin's father, Vladimir Polunin, was a scenographer, set designer and educator and his mother, Elizabeth Polunin, was an artist and theatre designer.[1][2][3] The second of four siblings, Polunin was the brother of the botanist Nicholas Vladimir Polunin, the piano teacher Tanya Polunin (1921–2009) and the physician Ivan Polunin.[1][2][4][5]
Educated at St Paul's School, Polunin later enrolled at Magdalen College, Oxford where he studied botany.[1] Polunin graduated in 1937.[1]
Career
[edit]For over 30 years, Oleg Polunin taught at Charterhouse School in Godalming, Surrey, later devoting his time to writing popular and authoritative guides to the flora of Europe and the Himalaya. His most well-known work is Flowers of Europe (1969), a classic text for both botanists and general readers.[6] Polunin travelled widely in pursuit of samples and photographs, and he discovered several new species. He was awarded the Linnean Society’s H. H. Bloomer Award in 1983.[7]
Personal life
[edit]In April 1943, Polunin married Lorna Mary Polunin (née Venning).[1] The couple had two children.[1][8]
From 1939 to 1947, Polunin was the brother-in-law of the writer Helen Fraser.[5]
On 1 July 1985, Polunin died from motor neurone disease in Godalming, Surrey aged 70.[1]
Selected books
[edit]- Flowers of the Mediterranean (Chatto & Windus, 1967)
- Flowers of Europe: a field guide (Oxford University Press, 1969)
- A Concise Flowers of Europe (Oxford University Press, 1972)
- Flowers of South West Europe (Oxford University Press, 1973, ISBN 0-19-217625-0)
- Trees and Bushes of Europe (Oxford University Press, 1976)
- Flowers of Greece and the Balkans (Oxford University Press, 1980, ISBN 0-19-217626-9)
- Flowers of the Himalaya (Oxford University Press, 1985)
- A Guide to the Vegetation of Britain and Europe (Oxford University Press, 1985, ISBN 0-19-217713-3)
- Concise Flowers of the Himalaya (Oxford University Press, 1987)
- Collins Photoguide to Wild Flowers of Britain and Northern Europe (Collins, 1988, ISBN 0-00-219709-X)
References
[edit]- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 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 26 June 2026. (Subscription, Wikipedia Library access or UK public library membership required.)
- 1 2 "Vladimir Polunin designer". Ben Uri Research Unit. Ben Uri Gallery & Museum. Retrieved 25 June 2026.
- ↑ Polunin, Vladimir (1980) [First published 1927], Dust Jacket from The Continental Method of Scene Painting, London: Dance Books Ltd., ISBN 0903102579, retrieved 12 November 2024
- ↑ Westing, Arthur (16 December 1997). "Obituary: Nicholas Polunin". The Independent.
- 1 2 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.)
- ↑ Reviews of publications: Oleg Polunin[dead link]
- ↑ Recipients of the H. H. Bloomer Award Archived 2008-10-10 at the Wayback Machine
- ↑ "Oleg V Polunin and Lorna M Venning [marriage index]". England and Wales Civil Registration Indexes. 1a (Q2). London: General Register Office: 443. 1943.
- ↑ International Plant Names Index. O. V. Polunin.
