Christian Ramsay

Christian Ramsay
A portrait of Christian Ramsay, beside a watercolour of a flower and a bird.
Born	(1786-02-28)February 28, 1786 Coalstoun, East Lothian, Great Britain
Died	January 22, 1839(1839-01-22) (aged 52) Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom
Other names	Lady Dalhousie Countess of Dalhousie
Fields	Botany
Spouse	George Ramsay
Children	James Broun-Ramsay
Signature

Christian Ramsay, Countess of Dalhousie informally Lady Dalhousie, née Broun; 28 February 1786 – 22 January 1839 was a Scottish botanist and natural historian. She married the 9th Earl of Dalhousie and travelled with him when he was appointed Governor General of Canada and India. While travelling, she collected and catalogued many species of plants, presented scientific papers to societies and donated multiple collections to different botanical groups.

Lady Dalhousie was made an honorary member of the Botanical Society of Edinburgh and was its only female honorary member until her death. A genus of tropical plant, Dalhousiea, was named after her.

Lady Dalhousie was born Christian Broun on 28 February 1786 at Coalstoun, the ancestral home of the Broun family near Haddington, East Lothian. She was the only child of Charles and Christian Broun. The Broun family had a history in the legal profession; her father was an advocate and his father a judge, George Broun, Lord Coalstoun. On 14 May 1805, she married the 9th Earl of Dalhousie and was styled Countess of Dalhousie.

Lady Dalhousie and her husband had three sons. Their eldest, George, was born 3 August 1806, a captain in the 26th (Cameronian) Regiment of Foot, he died on 25 October 1832. Their second son, Charles, died at nine years old. Their youngest, James, born 22 April 1812, inherited his father's title in 1838 and was created Marquess of Dalhousie in 1849.

"Lady Dalhousie was eminently distinguished for a fund of the most varied knowledge, for a clear and powerful judgement, for acute observation, a kind heart, a brilliant wit."

Lady Dalhousie was a keen botanist; she catalogued plants on herbarium sheets, fully identified and complete with collection dates, notes on habitats and some with watercolour pictures she had painted. In 1824, Lord Dalhousie co-founded the Literary and Historical Society of Quebec. Lady Dalhousie's catalogue of Canadian plants was included in the first issue of the society's Transactions in 1829. Lady Dalhousie presented a paper to them and donated her collection of Nova Scotian specimens as part of a herbarium in 1824.