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Name: GILLETT, Jan Bevington
Nee: son of Arthur Bevington Gillett
Birth Date: 28 May 1911 Headington, Oxford
Death Date: 17 March 1995 Kew, Richmond, London
First Date: 1930
Profession: Botanist
Area: Kilindini
Married: In Stepney 1937 Gertrude Spector b. 28 June 1916 Mile End, London
Children: Simon (1938);Matthew (1946); Peter Bevington (1950); Rachel Richenda (1940)
Book Reference: Red 31, Burke
School: Leighton Park School and King's College Cambridge
General Information:
Burke - The East African Herbarium
In 1952-1953 Gillett was given the opportunity to collect in Africa again, with a boundary commission on the Kenya-Ethiopia border. Visiting little-known parts, his collections included many species new to science. He thereafter remained in Kenya, as Botanist in Charge of the Herbarium from 1964-1971. His appointment had initially been vetoed due to the colonial authorities objecting to having an ex-Communist in a government role, but after Kenyan independence in 1963 he was able to succeed Bernard Verdcourt. Gillett oversaw the transfer of the herbarium from the East African High Commission to the National Museums of Kenya, and trained a new generation of botanists.
1939 England and Wales Register living with wife in Cheadle - he was biology teacher in a secondary school