John Davidson was a pioneer British Columbian botanist and conservationist who was educated in Scotland. He came to Vancouver in 1911 and shortly thereafter was appointed Provincial Botanist and established botanical gardens at Essondale and later at the University of British Columbia. Davidson joined the faculty of UBC in 1912 and retired in 1948. He was involved with the B.C. Mountaineering Society and was a founder of the Vancouver Natural History Society. Davidson's work also led him to be active in the Arbor Day and City Beautiful movements of the 1920s.