Posts Tagged ‘plant specimens’
Edmund 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 MoreJoseph Banks: The Voyager Botanist Who Shaped Kew and Safeguarded Linnaeus’s Legacy
This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. February 24, 1743 Dearest reader, On this day, we commemorate the birth of Sir Joseph Banks, a daring and indefatigable English naturalist and botanist whose legacy spans continents and centuries. If ever a…
Read MoreE. Lucy Braun: Trailblazing Ecologist and Champion of Eastern Deciduous Forests
First Female President of the Ecological Society April 19, 1889 Today is the birthday of botanist, ecologist, and expert on deciduous forests of the eastern United States E. Lucy Braun. The “E” stood for Emma, but she always went by Lucy. In 1950, Lucy was the first woman elected president of the Ecological Society of…
Read MoreCharles Theodore Mohr: Alabama’s Pioneer Botanist and World Traveler
‘Bama Botanist Today is the anniversary of the death of botanist Charles Theodore Mohr. Although he was born in Germany and educated in Stuttgart, Charles became one of Alabama’s first botanists. He emigrated to the United States in 1848. A trained pharmacist, Charles traveled the world before settling in Alabama, and he especially enjoyed collecting…
Read MoreMary Strong Clemens: The Tireless Plant Collector Who Traveled the World
Faithful Pastors Wife Today is the birthday of the botanist and prolific plant collector Mary Strong Clemens. When she was 19 years old, she married a minister named Joseph Clemens. Joseph was a chaplain in the United States Army, and he served in the Philippines, and later in France – during World War I. Mary…
Read MoreAlice Eastwood: The Self-Taught Botanist Who Saved Plants From the Flames
A Curator of Botany Today is the anniversary of the death of the Canadian American self-taught botanist Alice Eastwood who died on this day in 1953. Eastwood is remembered for saving almost 1500 specimens from a burning building following the San Francisco earthquake in 1906. Afterward, she wrote about the specimens that didn’t make it:…
Read MoreFrançois-André Michaux: French Botanist and American Tree Explorer
A Father and Son Duo Today is the anniversary of the death of François-André Michaux, who died on this day in 1855. François-Andre was the son of the botanist, Andrea Michaux. His father named an oak in his honor. When François-Andre was 15 years old, he and his dad set sail for North America. The…
Read MoreCharles Darwin and the Beagle: The Voyage That Shaped Evolutionary Theory
Young Man with an Old Soul On this day in 1836, the HMS Beagle returned to England after a five-year voyage around the world. It was a revelatory trip for ship’s naturalist, Charles Darwin, who found the building blocks to his evolutionary theory in the many fossils and diverse species he discovered on his excursions.…
Read MoreLeRoy Abrams: The Tireless California Botanist and Father of Pacific Flora
The California Plant Collector Today is the birthday of California plant collector, LeRoy Abrams, who was born on this day in 1874. Abrams was born in Sheffield, Iowa. He moved west with his parents as a small boy. As a graduate student, Abrams performed yeoman’s work botanizing the area around Los Angeles. A biographical sketch…
Read MoreAsa Gray: Harvard’s Pioneering Botanist and Defender of Evolution
This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. July 22, 1842 On this day, dear garden friend, the esteemed botanist Asa Gray graced Harvard with his arrival, marking the beginning of what would become a most illustrious tenure at America’s oldest…
Read MoreThe Father of Japanese Botany: Tomitaro Makino’s Extraordinary Legacy
This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. April 24, 1862 On this day, Japan celebrates Botany Day—a delightful occasion honoring the birth of Tomitaro Makino, aptly known as the Father of Japanese Botany. While the rest of society busied themselves…
Read More