Nathaniel Lord Britton
Inspired by the Kew Gardens
It's the anniversary of the death of Nathaniel Lord Britton; an American botanist and taxonomist who died on this day in 1934.
Britton married the famous bryologist Elizabeth Gertrude Knight. Together, they used Kew Gardens in London as their inspiration for the New York Botanical Garden.
Britain and the botanist Joseph Rose named Regina Carnegiea in 1908 as a tribute to his philanthropy.
In the obituary of Britton, botanist Henry Rusby shared this charming anecdote:
"Attracted one day, by the beauty of some drawings that lay before him, I inquired as to their source. When told that he, himself, was the artist, I asked in astonishment, 'Can you draw like that?' 'Of course,' he said. 'What you suppose I did all that hard work in the drawing class for?'"