Economic Botany Collections

T.E. Wallis as a student in the Chemistry lab, 1898

© Royal Pharmaceutical Society

Thomas Edward Wallis (1876-1973)

In 1925 T. E. Wallis was appointed a part-time curator; he would hold this position until 1949. After passing his exams at the Pharmaceutical Society School of Pharmacy, Wallis held various teaching and analytical positions before returning to the Pharmaceutical Society as a lecturer. He was made Professor of Pharmacognosy in 1924 and continued to contribute greatly to the development of this field of pharmacy. In 1946 he published Textbook of Pharmacognosy and was responsible for the reorganisation of the curriculum for pharmacy students towards a more chemistry-based education.

As curator of the museum, Wallis was a meticulous note-taker and worked to extend the collections significantly. He encouraged research students from around the world to work and study in the museum.

After 1934, use of the museum was considerably reduced, as the School of Pharmacy's expansion took much of the area originally designated for the museum. This area was further reduced to a storage room in the basement when the collections moved back to Bloomsbury Square after being evacuated during the Second World War.

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