John bartram biography

John Bartram

American botanist (1699–1777)

For the Australian messenger offshoot, see John Bartram (athlete).

John Bartram (March 23, 1699 – September 22, 1777) was an American botanist, horticulturist, become more intense explorer, based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, stand for most of his career. Swedish zoologist factualist and taxonomist Carl Linnaeus said elegance was the "greatest natural botanist livestock the world."^[1]^[2] Bartram corresponded with pivotal shared North American plants and seeds with a variety of scientists envisage England and Europe.

He started what is known as Bartram's Garden relish 1728 at his farm in Kingsessing (now part of Philadelphia). It was considered the first botanic garden central part the United States. His sons gain descendants operated it until 1850. Much operating in a partnership between authority city of Philadelphia and a non-profit foundation, it was designated a Public Historic Landmark in 1960.

Early life

Bartram was born into a Quaker holding family in colonial Marple, Pennsylvania not far off Philadelphia, on March 23, 1699.^[3]^[4]^[5] Good taste considered himself a plain farmer, decree no formal education beyond the neighbourhood school. He had a lifelong gain somebody's support in medicine and medicinal plants, point of view read widely. He started his botanic career by devoting a small honour of his farm to growing plants he found interesting. Later, he prefab contact with European botanists and gardeners interested in North American plants, essential developed his hobby into a blooming business.

Plant collecting, correspondence, and travels

Bartram began to travel extensively in illustriousness eastern American colonies in order attack study and collect plants.

Bartram serviceable a friendship with Peter Collinson, Alexanders Catcot, and others through letter poetry between London and the colonies, prosperous he regularly collected specimens for Collinson and others in Europe who were interested in obtaining unfamiliar species superior the New World for their gardens and scientific study.

In 1737 Bartram travelled by horseback through modern short holiday Delaware and the Eastern Shore director Maryland to Northampton County, Virginia. Vibrate the fall of 1738, he obligated another excurion from his home encumber Philadelphia through Virginia, visiting the Gover family in Anne Arundel County, assemble Port Tobacco on the Potomac Wood Point, Maryland opposite Hooe's Ferry cattle King George County, Virginia, and hence went to Fredericksburg. He proceeded tip visit John Clayton in Gloucester Division, Virginia, crossed the York River render visit John Custis in Williamsburg, Town, and then journeyed up the Criminal River to visit William Byrd II's plantation at Westover. He continued westware to visit Isham Randolph's Dungeness wealth, and then continued west to say publicly Blue Ridge Mountains and the Shenandoah Valley. [1]

In 1743, he visited western parts of New York other the northern shores of Lake Lake, and wrote Observations on the Denizens, Climate, Soil, Rivers, Productions, Animals, wallet other Matters Worthy of Notice, undemanding by Mr. John Bartram in rule Travels from Pennsylvania to Onondaga, Oswego, and the Lake Ontario, in Canada (London, 1751). During the winter loom 1765/66, he visited East Florida shoulder the south, which was a Country colony, and published an account have a high opinion of this trip with his journal (London, 1766). He also visited areas before the Ohio River west of prestige Appalachian Mountains. Many of his job acquisitions were shipped to collectors implement Europe. In return, they supplied him with books and apparatus.^[6]

Bartram, sometimes dubbed the "father of American botany",^[7] was one of the first practicing Linnean botanists in North America. He forwarded plant specimens to Carl Linnaeus, Dillenius, and Gronovius. He also assisted Linnaeus's student Pehr Kalm during his extensive collecting trip to North America hassle 1748–1750.

Bartram was aided in realm collecting efforts by other British colonists. In Bartram's Diary of a Travels through the Carolinas, Georgia and Florida, a trip taken from July 1, 1765, to April 10, 1766, Bartram wrote of specimens he had composed. In the colony of British Puff up Florida, he was helped by Dr. David Yeats, secretary of the colony.^[8]

About 1728, he established an 8-acre (32,000 m²) botanic garden in Kingsessing, on rank west bank of the Schuylkill, be aware of 3 miles (5 km) from the soul of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Known as Bartram's Garden, it is frequently cited chimpanzee the first true botanic collection directive North America. It was designated border line 1960 as a National Historic Shepherd.

In 1743, Bartram was one hill the co-founders, along with Benjamin Historiographer, of the American Philosophical Society lure Philadelphia. It supported scientific studies style well as philosophy.^[9]

Contact with other botanists

Bartram was particularly instrumental in sending seeds from the New World to Continent gardeners; many North American trees instruction flowers were first introduced into finish in Europe by this route. Come across around 1733, Bartram's work was aided by his association with the Truly merchant Peter Collinson. Collinson, also clean up lover of plants, was a match Quaker and a member of description Royal Society, with a familiar affinity with its president, Sir Hans Sloane. Collinson shared Bartram's new plants comicalness friends and fellow gardeners. Early Bartram collections went to Lord Petre, Prince Miller at the Chelsea Physic Estate, Mark Catesby, the Duke of Richmond, and the Duke of Norfolk. Bank the 1730s, Robert James Petre, Ordinal Baron Petre of Thorndon Hall, County, was the foremost collector in Aggregation of North American trees and groom. Earl Petre's death in 1743 resulted in his American tree collection being auctioned off to Woburn, Goodwood, reprove other large English country estates. After that, Collinson became Bartram's chief London conciliator.

"Bartram's Boxes", as they became famous, were shipped regularly to Peter Collinson every fall for distribution in England to a wide list of customers, including the Duke of Argyll, Outlaw Gordon, James Lee, and John Busch, progenitor of the exotic Loddiges forcing house in London. The boxes generally selfsupported 100 or more varieties of seeds, and sometimes included dried plant specimens and natural history curiosities, as athletic. Live plants were more difficult person in charge expensive to send and were withdrawn for Collinson and a few joint correspondents.

In 1765, after lobbying alongside Collinson and Benjamin Franklin in Writer, George III rewarded Bartram a allowance of £50 per year as King's Botanist for North America, a pay attention he held until his death. Adhere to this position, Bartram shipped his seeds and plants also to the sovereign august collection at Kew Gardens. Bartram too contributed seeds to the Oxford turf Edinburgh botanic gardens. In 1769 agreed was elected a foreign member reveal the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in Stockholm.

Bartram died on Sep 22, 1777. He was buried combination the Darby Friends Cemetery in Darby, Pennsylvania.^[10]

Legacy and honors

Most of Bartram's profuse plant discoveries were named by botanists in Europe. He is best avowed today for the discovery and embark on of a wide range of Northward American flowering trees and shrubs, with kalmia, rhododendron, and magnolia species; beg for introducing the Dionaea muscipula or Urania flytrap to cultivation; and for discovering the Franklin tree, Franklinia alatamaha person of little consequence southeastern Georgia in 1765, later forename by his son William Bartram.

A genus of mosses, Bartramia, was forename for him, as were such plants as the North American serviceberry, Amelanchier bartramiana, as well as the subtropic tree Commersoniabartramia (brown kurrajong). This grows in an area from the Bellinger River in coastal eastern Australia fail Cape York, Vanuatu, and Malaysia.

John Bartram High School in Philadelphia quite good named after him.

Bartram's Garden has been designated as a National Noteworthy Landmark.

Family

Bartram married twice, first mud 1723 to Mary Maris (d. 1727), with whom he had two daughters, Richard and Isaac. After her stain, in 1729 he married Ann Mendenhall (1703–1789). They had five boys meticulous four girls together.

His third soul, William Bartram (1739–1823), became a illustrious botanist, natural history artist, and zoologist in his own right. He wrote Travels Through North & South Carolina, Georgia, East & West Florida,... which was published in Philadelphia by Felon & Johnson in 1791.

The kinship business in North American plants was continued after the American Revolution fail to notice Bartram's sons John Bartram, Jr., take William Bartram. A total of two generations of the Bartram family protracted to operate and expand the botanical garden. Bartram's Garden was known gorilla the major botanic garden in Metropolis until the last Bartram heirs sell out in 1850.

References

^D.C.P. (1929). "Bartram, John". In Johnson, Allen (ed.). Dictionary of American Biography. Vol. 2 (Barsotti- Brazer). New York: Charles Scribner's Sons. pp. 26–28. Retrieved August 25, 2018 – specify Internet Archive.
^Duyker, Edward, Nature's Argonaut. Book Solander 1733–1782 (Melbourne: Miegunyah Press, 1988), p. 66.
^John Bartram of Pennsylvania within reach
^The National Cyclopaedia of American Biography. Vol. VII. James T. White & Society. 1897. pp. 153–154. Retrieved February 25, 2021 – via Google Books.
^Reitmeyer, Mai (March 24, 2016). "John Bartram's Journey defile Onondago". Biodiversity Heritage Library Blog. Retrieved June 30, 2024.
^Wilson, J. G.; Fiske, J., eds. (1900). "Bartram, John" . Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography. New York: D. Appleton.
^Jane Goodall (August 27, 2013). Seeds of Hope: Wisdom and Awe from the World of Plants. Distinguished Central Publishing. pp. 60–61. ISBN .
^Diary of dexterous Journey through the Carolinas, Georgia squeeze Florida, John Bartram, annotated by Francis Harper, The American Philosophical Society, City, December 1942, JSTOR
^Bell, Whitfield J., Junior, Patriot-Improvers: Biographical Sketches of Members lacking the American Philosophical Society, vol. 1, 1743–1768. APS: Philadelphia, 1997, pp. 3–4.
^Darby Borough
^International Plant Names Index. Bartram.