Václav Jan Sekera (; 13 June 1815 â 21 April 1875) was a naturalist and pharmacist from the Austrian Empire. For his botanical work, he was awarded an honorary doctorate by the Jagiellonian University.
Sekera was born in Mnichovo Hradià ¡tà() in Bohemia, Austrian Empire, the son of Václav, a draper who later became an innkeeper. His mother KarolÃÂna, née Michálková, came from a brewer family. He studied at the Mladá Boleslav gymnasium before becoming a pharmacist's apprentice in 1828 under his uncle Václav Vejrich who had an interest in botany. In 1836 he went to the University of Prague and studied pharmacy and natural history under Jan Svatopluk Presl and Kostelecký. He began to go on botanical excursions with Anton Fierlinger and P. M. Opiz. In 1838 he inherited his uncle's pharmacy in Mnichovo Hradià ¡tàfrom 1839 while also continuing his pursuit of natural history studies. He collected plants, insects and minerals from the region. He was the author of a manuscript titled Repertorium florae Bohemicae and was in correspondence with many local naturalists including Presl, Jan Evangelista Purkynàand Philipp Maximilian Opiz. He described and named a species of plant as Lychnis preslii after his teacher Presl, but this is now a synonym for Silene dioica. In 1860 he set up a shop selling books and artworks. In 1868âÂÂ1869, he was mayor of his town. He moved his pharmacy in 1875 and called it the U Zlatého lva () which was a landmark for century. He married Anna Kittlová and they had five daughters and a son. After his death, his herbarium was described by Václav MráÃÂek who was married to his eldest daughter Marie. His herbarium is held in the national museum.