Frederick Vernon Coville

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Frederick Vernon Coville

Frederick Vernon Coville (born March 23, 1867 in Preston, New York , † January 9, 1937 in Washington, DC ) was an American botanist . Its botanical author abbreviation is " Coville "; the abbreviation “ Cov. " in use. He was considered an expert on the two plant families gooseberry plants (Grossulariaceae) and rush plants (Juncaceae); The heather family (Ericaceae) were also among his specialties .

Live and act

Coville was born on March 23, 1867 in the very small town of Preston, New York State. He received his BA in 1887 from Cornell University , where he was an honor student and outstanding athlete. In 1887 he went to the US Department of Agriculture ( US Department of Agriculture , abbreviated USDA), where he was botanical assistant until 1893. From 1893 to 1937 he was - as the successor to the late George Vasey - botanist at the USDA and at the same time curator ( Honorary Curator ) of the United States National Herbarium . When the National Herbarium was transferred to the Smithsonian Institution in 1896, he retained that position. Coville became a senior botanist in 1924 and a principal botanist in 1928 . In 1901, the Bureau of Plant Industries was established and Coville became head of the Office of Botanical Investigations and Experiments . He was instrumental in building the National Arboretum , established in 1927, and becoming its Acting Director in 1929.

Coville began professional fieldwork in Arkansas in 1887 ; he was at the Geological Survey of Arkansas in 1888. His most important field work was as a botanist on the Death Valley Expedition of 1891. In 1899 he took part with Thomas Henry Kearney on the Harriman Alaska Expedition , during which 25 new species of willow were described from Alaska. Coville also helped found the US Department of Agriculture's Seed Laboratory . He himself worked there, among other things, on the genus of blueberries ( Vaccinium ).

Coville died of coronary thrombosis in Washington DC on January 9, 1937, at the age of 69 .

Honors

Coville was President of the Biological Society of Washington from 1899 to 1900 , President of the Botanical Society of Washington in 1903, and of the Washington Academy of Sciences in 1912 . In 1900 he was the founder of the Washington Biologists' Field Club , of which he was president from 1919 to 1921. In 1903, he was vice president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science . He was also President of the Cosmos Club in 1915 and President of the Arts Club from 1927 to 1929 . From 1920 to 1937 he was chairman of the Research Committee of the National Geographic Society .

In 1921 he received an honorary doctorate from George Washington University . The Massachusetts Horticultural Society awarded him the George Robert White Medal of Honor that same year in recognition of his excellent work on blueberries.

Dedication names

The species Arabis covillei Greene from the gosling species was named in his honor.

Fonts

Coville edited together with Nathaniel Lord Britton the plant family Grossulariaceae his work North American Flora (Volume 22 (3) 1908 and "Additions" in Volume 22 (6) 1918). Other writings:

  • Botany of the Death Valley Expedition . 1893.

literature

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Web links

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personal data
SURNAME Coville, Frederick Vernon
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American botanist
DATE OF BIRTH March 23, 1867
PLACE OF BIRTH Preston, New York
DATE OF DEATH January 9, 1937
Place of death Washington, DC