Joan Margaret Legge


Lady Joan Margaret Legge was a botanist from England who died on 4 July 1939 while collecting samples at Valley of flowers, India.

Early life

Joan Margaret Legge was born on 21 February 1885, to William Legge, 6th Earl of Dartmouth and Lady Mary Coke. She held the office of Justice of Peace for Staffordshire.

Death

In 1939 Joan Margaret Legge went to India to study flora of the Valley of Flowers on behalf of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, and while traversing some rocky slopes to collect flowers, she slipped off and lost her life. Her sister came in search of Joan Margaret Legge and built a tomb inside the Valley of Flowers. She died unmarried at the age of 54.

Commemoration

A new species of Impatiens, found near the Valley of Flowers, was named as a tribute to Joan Margaret Legge in 2010. It is called Impatiens leggei.