He was born on Innerwick Farm near
Dunbar on 14 January 1900. He was educated at
St. Mary's School, Melrose then
Edinburgh Academy. His education was interrupted by the
First World War, joining the
Royal Flying Corps in 1917 and returning to civilian life in 1919. He then studied at the East of Scotland Agricultural College, before taking a postgraduate course at the
University of Edinburgh gaining a doctorate (PhD) in 192 with his thesis
The pollination of some important agricultural grasses with a view to improved methods of breeding. He began working at the Scottish Plant Breeding Station in 1924, in time becoming its director. In 1929 he was elected a fellow of the
Linnean Society. His gained a second doctorate (DSc) from the University of Edinburgh in 1939 with his research on experimental taxonomy. In 1957 he was elected a fellow of the
Royal Society of Edinburgh. His proposers were
Alan William Greenwood,
Stephen John Watson,
Hugh Paterson Donald, and William Black. In 1961 he was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE). In later life he lived at the Old Mill House, Lanark Road West in
Balerno, south-west of
Edinburgh. He died on 30 September 1980. ==Family==