Goldblatt was born in Johannesburg, South Africa on October 8, 1943. His undergraduate studies (B.Sc.) were undertaken at the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesberg (1965–1966), from where he went on to graduate studies at the University of Cape Town, where he received his doctorate in 1970. He held a position as lecturer in botany at Witwatersrand (1967) and then Cape Town (1968–1971) before emigrating to the United States in 1972. In the US he took up a position as a researcher at the Missouri Botanical Gardens, in St. Louis, where he has remained since, holding the position of Senior Curator since 1990. He returned briefly to South Africa in 2006 as a researcher at the Compton Herbarium, South African National Biodiversity Institute, in Cape Town. He has also held appointments at the University of Missouri, as well as the University of Portland, Oregon (2000–2004). He obtained US citizenship in 1978.[1][2][3]
Workedit
Peter Goldblatt started his career as a plant collector in 1962, and worked extensively in Cape Province, but also in other regions of Africa, Madagascar, the United States, Greece, Italy, Israel, Turkey and Iran, having collected thousands of specimens. His interests lie in systematic taxonomy.[4] One of his main research interests has been the cytology and taxonomy of the Iridaceae of Africa.[1][2][3] A member of several botanical societies, he was also General Secretary (1982–1985) of the Association for the Taxonomic Study of Tropical African Flora.[5][6]
Goldblatt, Peter (1986). "Systematics and relationships of the bigeneric Pacific family Campynemataceae (Liliales)". Bulletin du Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Section B. 8: 117–132.
Manning, J.C.; Goldblatt, P.; Fay, M.F. (2004). "A revised generic synopsis of Hyacintheaceae in sub-Saharan Africa, based on molecular evidence, including new combinations and the new tribe Pseudoprospereae". Edinburgh Journal of Botany. 60 (3): 533–568. doi:10.1017/S0960428603000404. S2CID 86097586.
Manning, J.C.; Forest, F.; Devey, D.S.; Fay, M.F.; Goldblatt, P. (February 2009). "A molecular phylogeny and a revised classification of Ornithogaloideae (Hyacinthaceae) based on an analysis of four placid DNA regions". Taxon. 58 (1): 77–107. doi:10.1002/tax.581011. JSTOR 27756826.
Legacyedit
A number of taxa have been named in his honour, including;
Goldblatt, Peter. "Curriculum vitae" (PDF). Retrieved 20 January 2016.
"Peter Goldblatt". Missouri Botanical Garden. Retrieved 20 January 2016.
Gunn, Mary; Codd, L. E. (1981). Botanical exploration of southern Africa: an illustrated history of early botanical literature on the Cape flora, biographical accounts of the leading plant collectors and their activities in southern Africa from the days of the East India company until modern times. Cape Town: A. A. Balkema. ISBN 978-0-86961-129-6.
Rudall, P.J.; Cribb, P.J.; Cutler, D.F.; Humphries, C.J., eds. (1995). Monocotyledons: systematics and evolution (Proceedings of the International Symposium on Monocotyledons: Systematics and Evolution, Kew 1993). Kew: Royal Botanic Gardens. ISBN 978-0-947643-85-0. Retrieved 14 January 2014.
"Peter Goldblatt". Timber Press. Retrieved 20 January 2016.
"Goldblatt, Peter". Harvard University Herbaria & Libraries: Index of Botanists. 2015. Retrieved 29 December 2015.