Dr Alexander Garden (1730 – 1791) is most famous as a botanist whose name lives on in the gardenia flower, though he was also a physician and zoologist. Born and educated in Scotland, he lived for many years in South Carolina, using his spare time to study plants and living creatures, and sending specimens to the famous naturalist, Carolus Linnaeus. Events Pope Clement XII elected September 17 - Change of emperor of the Ottoman Empire from Ahmed III (1703-1730) to Mahmud I (1730-1754) Anna Ivanova (Anna I of Russia) became czarina Births April 16 - Henry Clinton, British general (d. ... 1791 (MDCCXCI) was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Tuesday of the 11-day-slower Julian calendar). ... Botany is the scientific study of plant life. ... Species See text. ... The Doctor by Samuel Luke Fildes This article is about the term physician, a type of doctor; for other uses of the word doctor see Doctor (disambiguation). ... Zoology (Greek zoon = animal and logos = word) is the biological discipline which involves the study of animals. ... Table of natural history, 1728 Cyclopaedia Natural history is an umbrella term for what are now usually viewed as several distinct scientific disciplines. ... Carolus Linnaeus, also known after his ennoblement as  , (May 23, 1707 – January 10, 1778), was a Swedish botanist, physician and zoologist[1] who laid the foundations for the modern scheme of nomenclature. ...

Garden was born in January 1730 in Birse, Aberdeenshire, the son of a clergyman. He studied medicine at Marischal College in the mid-1740s, discovering an interest in natural history while there. After two years as a surgeon's assistant in the navy, he continued his medical studies at the University of Edinburgh. One of his teachers was Charles Alston, the King's Botanist and Keeper of the Garden at Holyrood ^[1]where medicinal plants were cultivated; Alston was an influence on Garden's growing interest in botany.^{[2] [3]} To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Marschal College viewed from Upper Kirkgate Marischal College was founded in 1593 in Aberdeen by George Keith, 5th Earl Marischal of Scotland. ... Table of natural history, 1728 Cyclopaedia Natural history is an umbrella term for what are now usually viewed as several distinct scientific disciplines. ... The University of Edinburgh, founded in 1583, is a renowned centre for teaching and research in Edinburgh, Scotland. ... The Palm House in the Royal Botanic Gardens The Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh is both a scientific institution and a tourist attraction. ...

An opportunity came to practise medicine in South Carolina, where Garden's father, the Reverend Alexander Garden, had gone to minister to a congregation in Charleston. The younger Garden arrived there in April 1752, and started work in Prince William Parish.^[4] Marischal College granted his MD in 1754 and the following year he moved to Charleston (at that time called Charles Town) where he married Elizabeth Peronneau (1739–1805). Official language(s) English Capital Charleston(1670-1789) Columbia(1790-present) Largest city Columbia Largest metro area Greenville-Spartanburg-Anderson Area  Ranked 40th  - Total 34,726 sq mi (82,965 km²)  - Width 200 miles (320 km)  - Length 260 miles (420 km)  - % water 6  - Latitude 32°430N to 35... Nickname: The Holy City, The Palmetto City, Chucktown, Port City, Charlie O C-Port City Motto: Aedes Mores Juraque Curat (She cares for her temples, customs, and rights) Location of Charleston in South Carolina. ... MD or md may stand for: Air Madagascar IATA code make dir (Microsoft DOS) or meta device (UNIX) in computing Managing Director, or CEO Maryland state code McDonnell Douglas aircraft McDonalds, a fast food restaurant Medicinæ Doctor, Doctor of Medicine (academic degree) Mendelevium (Md), symbol for the chemical element...

Gardenia flower named for Alexander Garden

Garden was partner in a busy practice but still found time for his greatest enthusiasm. He collected and studied flora and fauna and parcelled them up to send to John Ellis, a merchant and zoologist in London, and to Carolus Linnaeus in Sweden, after discovering linnaean classification in 1754. There were no neighbours with similar interests - "there is not a living soul who knows the least iota of Natural History," he wrote to Ellis^[5] - and his botanical and zoological conversations were carried on by correspondence. His parcels to Europe included "birds, fish, reptiles, amphibia, insects, and plants"^[6] from South Carolina or further afield, some from new species or genera which were then described in the scientific literature. Garden was a member of several learned societies, and was elected to be a fellow of the Royal Society in London. Carolus Linnaeus, also known after his ennoblement as  , (May 23, 1707 – January 10, 1778), was a Swedish botanist, physician and zoologist[1] who laid the foundations for the modern scheme of nomenclature. ... Scientific classification or biological classification refers to how biologists group and categorize extinct and living species of organisms. ... For programming language, see Iota and Jot. ... In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biodiversity. ... Look up genus in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... The premises of the Royal Society in London (first four properties only). ...

He sent various magnolias and some Gordonia specimens to London, and wrote descriptions of Stillingia and Fothergilla, but ironically the plant named for him was nothing to do with his efforts, and not even American. Linnaeus had to be pushed to name a plant after Garden, and eventually Ellis persuaded him to use Gardenia as a name for the Cape jasmine, also known as Cape jessamine. Species See text Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Magnolia Magnolia is a large genus of about 210[1] flowering plant species in the subfamily Magnolioideae of the family Magnoliaceae. ... Species About 40 species, including: Gordonia anomala Gordonia axillaris Gordonia balansae Gordonia chrysandra Gordonia hainanensis Gordonia hirta Gordonia javanica Gordonia lasianthus Gordonia longicarpa Gordonia shimidae Gordonia sinensis Gordonia tagawae Gordonia tonkinensis Gordonia wallichii Gordonia yunnanensis Gordonia is a genus of flowering plants in the family Theaceae, related to Franklinia, Camellia... Species Stillingia linearifolia Stillingia paucidentata Stillingia spinulosa Stillingia sylvatica - cockup hat, marcory, queens delight, queens root, silver leaf, yaw root Stillingia texana et al. ... Species Fothergilla gardenii Fothergilla major Fothergilla monticola Fothergilla is a genus of plants from the southeastern United States, in the Hamamelidaceae (witch-hazel) family. ...

His zoological interests led Garden to write about cochineal insects and about the greater siren, (Sirena lacertina), once called the mud iguana.^[7] One of Garden's sirens is still in the London Natural History Museum, pickled in a jar.^[8] As a doctor, he used his scientific knowledge in the smallpox epidemic in Charleston in 1760 when he inoculated over 2000 people, and he published an essay on the medicinal properties of the pinkroot (Spigelia marilandica). Binomial name Dactylopius coccus Costa, 1835 Synonyms Coccus cacti Linnaeus, 1758 Pseudococcus cacti Burmeister, 1839 Cochineal is the name of both an expensive crimson or carmine dye and the cochineal insect (Dactylopius coccus), from which the dye is derived. ... Binomial name Siren lacertina Österdam, 1766 The Greater Siren (Siren lacertina) is an eel-like amphibian. ... The Natural History Museum from the south east The Natural History Museum, one of three large museums on Exhibition Road, Kensington, London (the others are the Science Museum and the Victoria and Albert Museum), is home to life and earth science collections comprising some 70 million items. ... Smallpox (also known by the Latin names Variola or Variola vera) was a highly contagious viral disease unique to humans. ... Inoculation was a method of minimising the harm done by infection with smallpox. ...

During the American War of Independence he sided with the British and sent congratulations to Cornwallis after the Battle of Camden. Two years later his property was confiscated, he had to leave South Carolina, and in 1783 he went to live in Westminster in London. He became vice-president of the Royal Society and is said to have been respected for his "benevolence, cheerfulness, and pleasing manners".^[9] His health had been poor for a long time and he died of tuberculosis on 15 April 1791. Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis (December 31, 1738-October 5, 1805) was a British general and colonial governor. ... Combatants Britain United States Commanders Charles Cornwallis Horatio Gates Johann de Kalb† Strength 2,239 3,052 Casualties 68 killed 245 wounded 64 missing 1,000 killed or wounded 1,000 captured 132 missing The Battle of Camden was an important battle in the Southern Theatre of the American Revolutionary... Westminster is a district within the City of Westminster in London. ...

References

• Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
• James R Cothran, Gardens of Historic Charleston
• Walter J Frazer, Charleston! Charleston!: The History of a Southern City
• Raymond Phineas Stearns, Science in the British Colonies of America

1. ^ Edinburgh University archives
2. ^ DNB
3. ^ University medicine was closely linked to the study of botany then and for some time to come.
4. ^ In what is now Beaufort County
5. ^ David Taylor, South Carolina Naturalists: An Anthology, 1700-1860
6. ^ DNB
7. ^ Siren lacertina
8. ^ Siren lacertina in museum
9. ^ DNB

Beaufort County is a county located in the state of South Carolina. ...

External links

• Ehret and Alexander Garden - Norton-Brown Herbarium, University of Maryland