In addition to his work in leading and developing educational and natural history organizations, including the Field Museum in Chicago and the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, he has had a long career as a professor and researcher in both the U.K. and the United States.
He attended Kettering Grammar School where he developed a strong interest in local history and archaeology as well as plants, and the University of Reading,[4] where he received his B.Sc.
Following a postdoctoral research position at Indiana University, Bloomington, Crane began in the Field Museum's Geology department as assistant curator of paleobotany.
[8][9][10] In 1999, Crane left the Field Museum to become director and chief executive of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
Crane became the dean of the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies (FES) in 2009 (succeeding James Speth).
[15][16] His arrival coincided with the rippling effects of the late 2008 Great Recession, and Crane played an important role in stabilizing the school's finances.
[17][18] In June 2016, Crane moved to northern Virginia to lead The Oak Spring Garden Foundation, a nascent nonprofit founded by the landscape designer and fashion icon Rachel "Bunny" Lambert Mellon.
[18] Located on part of the Mellons' former Virginia estate, called Oak Spring, the Foundation's mission is to "support and inspire fresh thinking and bold action on the history and future of plants, including the art and culture of plants, gardens and landscapes.
[20] Peter Crane's research interests include: As well as numerous scientific and popular articles, Crane has written Ginkgo: The Tree That Time Forgot, been an editor for peer-reviewed journals such as Paleobiology and The Botanical Review of the Linnaean Society, and contributed as editor to multiple volumes on the evolution and conservation of plants.