Posts Tagged ‘botanical correspondence’
Sermons in the Soil: The Naturalist-Parson Gilbert White
This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. April 25, 1766 On this day, dear readers and fellow garden enthusiasts, a most delightful exchange occurred between two gentlemen of wit and wisdom. John Mulso, with quill in hand, penned a letter…
Read MoreEdmund Hope Verney: Vancouver Island’s wildflower steward and the seeds of colonial botanical exchange
This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. March 7, 1865 Dearest reader, On this day, a young Edmund Hope Verney received a letter that must have brightened the often lonely hours of his botanical peregrinations on Vancouver Island. After three…
Read MoreJohn Lewis Russell’s Spring Letter: A Botanist’s Affection for Nature and Nephew
This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. February 23, 1863 Dearest reader, On this day, John Lewis Russell—botanist, Unitarian minister, and cherished friend of both Thoreau and Emerson—sent a letter overflowing with compassion and reverence for nature to his adult…
Read MoreCadwallader Colden and His Daughter Jane: A Colonial Legacy in American Botany
This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: February 7, 1688 Dearest reader, On this day, the world welcomed Cadwallader Colden, a Scottish-American physician, botanist, and distinguished Lieutenant Governor of New York, whose legacy blooms still in the annals of botanical history. After arriving in America in 1718, Colden and his wife…
Read MoreA Box of Botanicals: Zaccheus Collins and His Living Gifts to Jacob Bigelow
This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. October 11, 1818 Dearest reader, On this day, Zaccheus Collins, an esteemed botanist and dedicated plant collector from Philadelphia, was born. His life’s work was largely centered around the collection and preservation of…
Read MoreLady Luxborough: The Exiled Poet Who Coined the Shrubbery
The Lady of Luxborough March 26, 1756 Today is the anniversary of the death of the English poet, writer, gardener, and a member of high society Lady Luxborough, Henrietta Knight. Henrietta was beautiful with a mass of black hair and attractive features. After two affairs, her husband, who had countless mistresses, exiled her from society…
Read MoreBenjamin Smith Barton: America’s First Professional Naturalist and Botanical Educator
Golden Butterfly February 10, 1766 Today is the birthday of the American botanist, naturalist, and physician Benjamin Smith Barton. Benjamin worked as a Professor of Natural History and Botany at the University of Pennsylvania, where he authored the very first textbook on American Botany. In 1803, at Thomas Jefferson’s request, Benjamin was tutoring Meriwether Lewis…
Read MoreSir Joseph Dalton Hooker: Victorian Botanist, Explorer, and Director of Kew Gardens
“Life is short, and books are long.” December 10, 1911 Today is the anniversary of the death of the Victorian British botanist, explorer, President of the Royal Society, and director of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker, who died at 94. Joseph accomplished much during his long life. The botanic gardens of…
Read MoreJane Colden: America’s First Female Botanist and Daughter of Cadwallader Colden
Lieutenant Governor of New York Today is the birthday of the Scottish-American physician, Scientist, botanist, and Lieutenant Governor of New York, Cadwallader Colden (CAD-wah-LIDDER). When Colden arrived in America in 1718, he began a family dynasty that would eventually settle in Queens, New York. Aside from his political endeavors and his many interests, Colden was…
Read MorePeter Collinson, John Bartram, and the curious beauty of Skunk Cabbage
Eastern Skunk Cabbage Today Peter Collinson wrote to John Bartram after receiving Skunk Weed (Symplocarpus foetidus). My good friend, John Bartram: I am very sensible of the great pains and many toilsome steps [you took] to collect so many rare plants scattered at a distance. I shall not soon forget it; …in some measure to…
Read MoreGotthilf Heinrich Ernst Muhlenberg: Pastor, Botanist, and Academic Pioneer
White Cloud Today is the day the American Lutheran Pastor and botanist Gotthilf Heinrich Ernst Muhlenberg was made a member of the American Philosophical Society. He was always referred to by his second name Heinrich. The Muhlenberg family was a founding family of the United States, and Heinrich came from a long line of pastors.…
Read MoreElizabeth Gertrude Knight Britton: Pioneer Bryologist and Conservation Champion
The Famous Bryologist Today is the birthday of the famous bryologist Elizabeth Gertrude Knight Britton. Elizabeth married the botanist Nathaniel Lord Britton. She was a teacher, and he was a professor of botany at Columbia University. Together, they helped create the New York Botanical Garden in the Bronx. Their primary source of Inspirationtion was Kew…
Read MoreSir Joseph Dalton Hooker: Victorian Botanist and Champion of Botanical Science
My Dear Little Lion Today is the anniversary of the death of the Victorian British botanist, explorer, President of the Royal Society, and director of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker who died on this day in 1911 at the age of 94. Hooker accomplished much during his long life. The botanic…
Read MoreMary Sophie Young: The Tenacious Botanist Who Explored West Texas
The Youngest of Eight Today is the birthday of botanist and explorer Mary Sophie Young, who was born on this day in 1872. In 2017, Nicole Elmer wrote a lovely profile of Young, which was featured on the website for the Department of Integrative Biology at the University of Texas at Austin. Here are some…
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