John Dransfield was born in Liverpool, U.K., in 1945. He obtained his bachelor’s degree in botany at Cambridge University in 1967 and went on to do his Ph.D. at the same university, researching the two Malayan palm genera Johannesteijsmannia and Eugeissona. His first job was in Indonesia on a British aid project, attached to the Bogor Botanical Gardens and Herbarium. In 1975 he joined the staff of the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, where he was the head of palm research until his retirement in 2005. He continues to do research at Kew as an Honorary Research Fellow. John has been a member of the IPS since 1969. In 1981, he began collaboration with Natalie Uhl towards the completion of Genera Palmarum, published in 1987.He completed the second edition of the work, together with co-authors Natalie Uhl, Conny Asmussen, William J. Baker, Madeline Harley and Carl Lewis in 2008. From 1980 through today, John has been co-editor of Palms (formerly Principes). He is author or co-author of several books on palms, including Palms of Madagascar. He now lives in southeast Wales.

Affiliated Organizations: Fous de Palmiers