16 Facts About Hermenegild Santapau

Hermenegild Santapau was a Spanish born naturalized Indian Jesuit priest and botanist, known for his taxonomic research on Indian flora.

Hermenegild Santapau was credited with the Latin nomenclature of several Indian plant species.

Hermenegild Santapau had a great knowledge of, and concern for, our plant wealth and wrote intensively on it for experts and laymen.

Hermenegild Santapau was born at La Galera, in the Catalan province of Tarragona, Spain, on 5 December 1903 and became a member of the Society of Jesus based at Gandia city in Valencia at the age of 16.

Hermenegild Santapau secured the theological degree of doctor of philosophy from the Pontifical Gregorian University, Rome in 1927 and reached India in 1928 to complete his regency.

From 1934, Hermenegild Santapau worked in Eastern Pyrenees and Italian Alps collecting plant specimens, for four years.

Hermenegild Santapau served as an accredited lecturer for post graduate studies in botany at the universities of Mumbai, Pune, Agra and Kolkata.

Hermenegild Santapau served at the BSI till 1967, holding the post of the director from 1961.

Hermenegild Santapau headed the Indian delegation to the tenth edition of the International Botanical Congress held at Edinburgh in 1954 and represented India at the International Standards Organisation conference of 1964 held at New Delhi.

Hermenegild Santapau was the leader of the delegation of botanists who toured USSR for three months in 1962.

Hermenegild Santapau returned to the St Xavier's College, Bombay after his retirement from the Botanical Survey of India in 1967 and worked there as the rector till his death, aged 66, on 13 January 1970.

Hermenegild Santapau served many government committees formed under the aegis of such organizations such as the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, Indian Council of Medical Research and the Central Council of Indian Medicine.

Hermenegild Santapau was involved in the activities of the Bengal branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, Bombay Natural History Society, Indian Science Congress Association, Indian Phytopathological Society, International Society of Phytomorphology, International Association for Plant Taxonomy, International Association of Botanical Gardens and the Royal Agricultural and Horticultural Society of Bengal.

Hermenegild Santapau was a fellow of the Indian Botanical Society, National Academy of Sciences, India and the Linnean Society of London.

Hermenegild Santapau was known to have done extensive research on the Indian flora and was credited with the Latin nomenclature of several Indian species.

Hermenegild Santapau is a recipient of the Order of the Alphonsus X the Wise award from the Government of Spain He was selected for the Birbal Sahni Medal in 1963 by the Indian Botanical Society.