Thomas Coulter

Thomas Coulter (1793–1843), of Dundalk, was an Irish physician, botanist and explorer. He was a member of the Royal Irish Academy, and a fellow of Trinity College, Dublin, where he founded the college's herbarium.

After taking his medical degree in Dublin, Coulter studied botany in Geneva for seventeen months under Swiss taxonomist Augustin de Candolle. Coulter then served as physician with the Real del Monte Company in Mexico, during which period he collected plants in the region. He is best remembered for exploration and botanical research in Mexico, Arizona and Alta California in the early 19th century. He subsequently returned to Ireland in 1834 and became curator of the herbarium at Trinity College, Dublin.