Alf Erling Porsild, botanist, northern explorer and assistant botanist 1922-25 at the Danish Biological Station, Greenland, was hired (with his brother Robert) by the Canadian government in 1926 to investigate the grazing potential arctic Canada for the husbandry of caribou (or reindeer), which were to be imported from Alaska. In 1936 he was appointed acting chief botanist of the National Museum of Canada. He served as Canadian consul to Greenland 1940-43. Returning to the National Museum, he was chief botanist 1946-67. He was the author of over 100 publications and his botanical collections included about 80 new species.