William Henry Harvey (1811-1866) was an Irish botanist renowned for his expertise in algae and mosses. He authored significant works such as A Manual of the British Algae (1841), Phycologia Britannica (1846-51), and Phycologia Australica (1858-63). Harvey spent several years in South Africa, co-authoring the Flora Capensis with Otto Wilhelm Sonder. His primary algal herbarium is housed at Trinity College Dublin, where he also served as curator and Professor of Botany for the Royal Dublin Society.
Born in Limerick, Ireland, Harvey developed a passion for algae at a young age. His early discovery of the moss Hookeria laetevirens in Killarney led to a lifelong friendship with Sir William Jackson Hooker, a prominent botanist. Harvey's work took him to South Africa and Australia, where he conducted extensive botanical research, earning the title "father of Australian Phycology." His major publications solidified his reputation as a leading phycologist of the 19th century, and his contributions to botany are preserved in collections across the world, including the Ulster Museum and the National Gallery, Dublin.
