Nathaniel Lord Britton
Nathaniel Lord Britton (born January 15, 1859 in New Dorp , Staten Island , † June 26, 1934 in New York ) was an American geologist and botanist . Its official botanical author abbreviation is " Britton ". His wife Elizabeth Gertrude Britton (1858–1934), née Knight, was also a botanist.
Life
Britton, the son of Jasper Alexander Hamilton Britton and Harriet Lord Turner, was supposed to study theology according to his parents' wishes, but found himself drawn to natural history from an early age. He graduated from Columbia University School of Mines and then taught geology and botany at Columbia University. After graduating, he joined the Torrey Botanical Club, a member of which he remained for life.
On August 27, 1885, he married the bryologist Elizabeth Gertrude Knight. They went on their honeymoon to Europe in 1888 and on the occasion of a visit to Kew Gardens , his wife was enthusiastic about the idea, which she proposed to the Torrey Club after returning to create a botanical garden in New York. The couple launched a successful campaign and so both left Columbia in 1895 when Britton became the first director of the newly created New York Botanical Garden . He stayed at his post until 1929. Together with him were Andrew Carnegie , J. Pierpont Morgan and Cornelius Vanderbilt II on the first board of directors of the Botanical Gardens. Britton found sponsors by naming newly discovered plant species after them. Britton was also a co-founder of the Staten Island Institute of Arts & Sciences . He has authored several botanical books and worked together with Joseph Nelson Rose in the research of the North American flora and especially the cacti .
Honors
Britton was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1925, to the American Philosophical Society in 1928 and to the National Academy of Sciences in 1914.
The following plant genera are named after him:
- Brittonamra Kuntze from the legume family (Fabaceae)
- Brittonella Rusby from the Malpighia family(Malpighiaceae)
- Brittonia Frick from the cactus family(Cactaceae)
- Brittonrosea Speg. from the cactus family(Cactaceae) is named after Britton and after Joseph Nelson Rose .
- Brittonastrum Briq. from the family of the Lamiaceae (Lamiaceae) is probably named after Britton.
Brittonia magazine is also named after Britton.
Fonts (selection)
- Manual of the flora of the Northern States and Canada . 1901 doi: 10.5962 / bhl.title.62418 .
- North American Trees . 1908 doi: 10.5962 / bhl.title.55765 . - with Joseph Adolf Shafer
- An illustrated flora of the northern United States, Canada and the British possessions: from Newfoundland to the parallel of the southern boundary of Virginia, and from the Atlantic Ocean westward to the 102d meridian . 3 volumes, 1913 doi: 10.5962 / bhl.title.940 . - with Addison Brown .
- Flora of Bermuda . 1918 doi: 10.5962 / bhl.title.1352 .
- The Flora of the American Virgin Islands . In: Brooklyn Botanic Garden Memoirs . Volume 1, 1918, pp. 19-118 doi: 10.5962 / bhl.title.46288 .
- The Cactaceae . 4 volumes, 1919–1923. - with Joseph Nelson Rose
- The Bahama flora . 1920 doi: 10.5962 / bhl.title.54084 . - with Charles Frederick Millspaugh
further reading
- Peter Philip Mickulas: Britton's botanical empire: The New York Botanical Garden and American botany, 1888–1929 . Volume 94 of the Memoirs of the New York Botanical Garden , New York Botanical Garden, 2007, ISBN 978-0-89327-479-5 .
- ED Merrill: Biographical Memoir of Nathaniel Lord Britton, 1859-1934 . With Bibliography by JH Barnhart. Ed .: National Academy of Sciences (= Biographical Memoirs of the National Academy of Sciences . Volume 19 ). Washington, DC 1938, p. 147-202 ( nasonline.org [PDF]).
Web links
- Author entry and list of the described plant names for Nathaniel Lord Britton at the IPNI
- The Cactaceae
- Marshall Avery Howe: Nathaniel Lord Britton (1859-1934) . In: The Journal of the New York Botanical Garden . Volume 35, 1935, pp. 169-180 ( online ).
Individual evidence
- ^ Member History: Nathaniel L. Britton. American Philosophical Society, accessed May 20, 2018 .
- ↑ Lotte Burkhardt: Directory of eponymous plant names . Extended Edition. Botanic Garden and Botanical Museum Berlin, Free University Berlin Berlin 2018. [1]
personal data | |
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SURNAME | Britton, Nathaniel Lord |
BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American geologist and botanist |
DATE OF BIRTH | January 15, 1859 |
PLACE OF BIRTH | New Dorp , Staten Island |
DATE OF DEATH | June 26, 1934 |
Place of death | New York City |