Established in 1859, the Singapore Botanic Gardens is the oldest garden in Singapore. Besides being an ornamental and recreational garden, it was also a scientific garden in its early years. Currently, the Gardens’ mission includes providing botanical and horticultural ...

Fort Canning Hill, previously known as Bukit Larangan and Government Hill, is 156 ft high and located at the junction of Canning Rise and Fort Canning Road. It has been a landmark since Singapore’s earliest recorded history. In the 14th century, it was likely the ...

Edred John Henry Corner (b. 12 January 1906, London, England–d. 14 September 1996, Great Shelford, England) was a renowned botanist and Assistant Director of the Singapore Botanic Gardens from 1929 to 1945. His extensive knowledge and research on fungi earned him ...

Hoo Ah Kay (also known as Whampoa) (b. approx 1816, Whampoa, Guangdong, China–d. 27 March 1880, Singapore) was a prominent Chinese businessman who ran Whampoa & Co., expanding it after the death of his father. With an uncommon mastery of English, Hoo became the ...

Lady Yuen-Peng McNeice (also known as Lady Percy McNeice), née Loke Yuen Peng (b. 1917, Kuala Lumpur, Malaya–d. 3 June 2012, Singapore), was a nature conservationist, avid photographer, social worker and philanthropist. Born the daughter of Malayan tycoon Loke ...

Richard Eric Holttum (b. 20 July 1895, Linton, Cambridgeshire, England–d. 18 September 1990, London) was director of the Singapore Botanic Gardens from 1925 to 1949. He assumed directorship in 1925 when I. H. Burkill retired. Holttum was instrumental in raising ...

Jacob Ballas (b. 21 January 1921, Iraq–d. 18 January 2000, Singapore) was a pillar of the Jewish community in Singapore, a successful stockbroker and well-known philanthropist. The Jacob Ballas Children’s Garden at the Singapore Botanic Gardens was named after ...

Papilionanthe Miss Joaquim, commonly referred to as Vanda Miss Joaquim, is the first recorded orchid hybrid from Singapore, created in the early 1890s. On 15 April 1981, the Agnes variety of the Vanda Miss Joaquim was launched as Singapore’s national flower. The ...

Nathaniel Wallich (b. 28 January 1786, Copenhagen, Denmark–d. 28 April 1854, London, England) was a widely respected Danish surgeon and naturalist. He played a key role in persuading the British government to establish Singapore’s first botanical and experimental ...

The lychee tree (Litchi chinensis) is popular for the sweet fruit it produces. Although the lychee tree is not easy to grow in Singapore, this evergreen tree can still be found in different parts of Singapore including the Singapore Botanic Gardens. A particular ...

Henry Nicholas Ridley (CMG) (FRS) (b. 10 December 1855, West Harling, Norfolk, England–d. 24 October 1956, Kew, Surrey, England) is the first director of the Singapore Botanic Gardens from 1888 to 1912. Ridley is also known as the “father of the rubber industry”, ...

Humphrey Morrison Burkill (b. 8 December 1914, Singapore—12 July 2006, Plymouth, United Kingdom) was the director of the Singapore Botanic Gardens from 1957 to 1969. He was the son of former Gardens director, Isaac Henry Burkill. In 1992, the Director’s House in ...

Dempsey Road, also known as Dempsey Hill or Tanglin Village, is located across from the Singapore Botanic Gardens, near the Embassy of the United States. It was originally the site of a nutmeg plantation that later became Tanglin Barracks for British troops. The ...