Alexander Gibson

Alexander Gibson (1800–1867) was a Scottish surgeon and botanist who worked in India. He was born in Kincardineshire and studied at Edinburgh. He went to India as a surgeon in the Honourable East India Company. He became a superintendent of the Dapuri botanical gardens (1838-47) under the erstwhile Bombay Presidency.He was appointed as the first Conservator of Forests of India on March 22, 1847.He published several works on botany and reports on forestry in India. He laid a foundation stone of Indian forestry and made a memorable contribution. Early life Alexander was born on October 24, 1800, in Lorensk, Scotland. As a child, Alexander learned from his father religious tolerance, love of nature, and progressive farming skills. He studied Latin, Greek, and natural history at the Mauritius College in Monterrey, Montreux Academy. In 1825, the East India Company sent Dr. Appointed Gibson as ‘Flag Surgeon’. Gibson was awarded the Ava Medal in Burma for his outstanding service. In 1827, Dr. Gibson came to Matunga in Mumbai from Burma after being appointed as an 'Assistant Surgeon' for the Troops of Bombay Horse, Artillery. In 1830, he was appointed for vaccination work in Gujarat, Konkan and Deccan. He could speak Marathi, Hindi, Gujarati. Dr. Gibson interacted with the Bhils and other tribal communities on the cultivation of moha. He built a 'Botanical Garden' in village Hiware in Junnar taluka of Pune district of India. He provided free medical services to the villagers . He introduced new agricultural crops to local farmers here by experimenting on crops like sago, potato, sugarcane. The medical service in India during the late 19th century widely quoted the works of Alexander Humboldt linking deforestation, increasing aridity, and temperature change on a global scale. Several reports which spoke of large-scale deforestation and desiccation were coming up, prominent among them being the medico-topographical reports by Ranald Martin, a surgeon. In another report, Gibson wrote to Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker in 1841 that "the Deccan is more bare than Gujarat" with the ghat mountain trees disappearing fast. He requested Hooker to influence the government to control the forests in the Deccan and Konkan region. This led to the creation of the Bombay forest conservancy and Gibson was made conservator of forests. This was the first case of state management of forests in the world.