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Brian O. Mulligan (1907-1996) was a botanist and the Director of the University of Washington’s Arboretum. He was born in Marino, County Down, north of Belfast in Ireland and received an education from the Royal Horticultural Society Garden in Wisley, England, and also the University of Bristol Agricultural and Horticultural Research Station. At Wisley he discovered a woody ground cover hybrid between two plants which is now known as Gaultheria x Wisleyensis ‘Wisley Pearl,’ and became an important landscaping plant. Brian also identified a new species of white rose which was named Rosa Mulliganii in his honor. These discoveries led to his appointment as Assistant Director at Wisley. He met his wife there, who was also fond of gardening. He served the Royal Air Force (RAF) for two years during World War II as one of their seven horticultural advisers on vegetable growing at their stations in Great Britain. He was recommended by Donald Graham, a member of the University of Washington’s Arboretum Foundation who was posted in England during the war, to the position of Arboretum Director upon his return to the U.S. In 1946, Brian accepted the position which included earning $300 a month and lodging at the stone cottage at the Arboretum’s south entrance. His decisions as Director saw the Arboretum flourish, such as replanting specimens to more beneficial positions in the garden and taking part in seed exchanges to add to the variety of plants. During his time in Seattle, he also served as President of the American Association of Botanical Gardens, Vice President of the Royal Horticultural Society, the International Dendrology Society, and the American Rock Garden Society. His work earned him numerous awards, such as the Veitch Memorial Gold Medal from the Royal Horticultural Society, the Award of Merit of the American Association of Botanical Gardens and Arboreta, and the Gold Medal of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society. He worked at the Arboretum until retirement in 1972, from where he continued to act as the Arboretum’s Director Emeritus, volunteering until his death in 1996.