Humphry Marshall (October 10, 1722 – November 5, 1801) was an American botanist and plant dealer. He was born in the village of Marshallton, Pennsylvania (within West Bradford Township). He was the cousin of botanist John Bartram and William Bartram. Like many early American botanists, he was a Quaker.
By trade, Marshall was a stonemason and farmer, but took up the study of natural history. He specialized early in native plants, after gaining his enthusiasm for botany from Bartram. When Marshall inherited more property, he created a botanical garden with both native and exotic plants in 1773. This was the second in the United States, the first having been established by John Bartram.
He published in 1785: "Arboretum Americanum: the American Grove, an Alphabetical Catalogue of Forest Trees and Shrubs, Natives of the American United States" (Philadelphia).
Marshall has been called the "Father of American Dendrology".
In his later years, Marshall was partly blinded by cataracts.
A genus of plants, Marshallia, was named in honor of Humphry Marshall and his nephew Moses Marshall, also a botanist.
Marshall Square Park in the Borough of West Chester, Pennsylvania, is four miles east of Marshallton where Humphry Marshall was born; the Park's founders named the square after their 18th century predecessor. On June 27, 2007 — proclaimed Humphry Marshall Day by Borough Mayor, Dick Yoder — a long-overdue marker honoring the Park's namesake was unveiled.
References
- American Philosophical Society: Humphry Marshall
- USDA: Papers of Humphry Marshall
- Humphry Marshall Page--accessed 25 May 2006
- Marshall Square Park
 |
This article about an American botanist is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
