Francis Wall Oliver FRS[1] (10 May 1864 – 14 September 1951) was an English botanist whose interests evolved from plant anatomy to palaeobotany to ecology.
[1] His father, Daniel, was Professor of Botany at University College, London (UCL), and Keeper of the Herbarium at the Royal Botanic Gardens (RBG), Kew, Surrey.
[2] His career was notable for its encouragement of female botanists, such as Margaret Jane Benson, Ethel Thomas, and Marie Stopes.
He was a talented and knowledgeable artist, a friend of John Ruskin who would visit the Olivers’ home in Kew, and well connected to leading members of the Pre-Raphaelite brotherhood.
After his marriage in 1896 to Mildred Alice Thompson (a fellow mountaineering enthusiast), he and his bride settled in The Vale, Chelsea, at the heart of London's artistic community.