Asa Gray (1810-1888)

Asa Gray (November 18, 1810 - January 30, 1888) is considered the most important American botanist of the 19th century. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... is the 322nd day of the year (323rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1810 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... is the 30th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1888 (MDCCCLXXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Sunday (click on link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a leap year starting on Tuesday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... Pinguicula grandiflora Example of a Cross Section of a Stem [1] Botany is the scientific study of plant life. ...

He was instrumental in unifying the taxonomic knowledge of the plants of North America. Of Gray's many works on botany, the most popular was his Manual of the Botany of the Northern United States, from New England to Wisconsin and South to Ohio and Pennsylvania Inclusive. This book, known simply as Gray's Manual, has gone through a number of editions with botanical illustrations by Isaac Sprague, and remains a standard in the field. Look up taxonomy in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... North America North America is a continent[1] in the Earths northern hemisphere and (chiefly) western hemisphere. ... Isaac Sprague (September 5, 1811 - 1895) was a self-taught landscape, botanical, and ornithological painter. ...

He was born in Sauquoit, New York in 1810, and became an M.D. in 1831 However, he relinquished medicine for botany, and in 1842 was appointed professor of natural history at Harvard University, a post he retained until 1873. Through the donation of an immense book and plant collection numbering in the thousands, he effectively created the botany department at Harvard; the Gray Herbarium is named after him. There are very few or no other articles that link to this one. ... The Medicinæ Doctor or Doctor of Medicine (M.D. or D.M.) is a doctorate level degree held by medical doctors. ... Harvard University (incorporated as The President and Fellows of Harvard College) is a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA and a member of the Ivy League. ...

He was a pupil of John Torrey, with whom he worked closely; they published the Flora of North America together, the first of many of Gray's works. John Torrey (August 15, 1796 - March 10, 1873) was an American botanist. ...

Corresponding with Charles Darwin, Gray was helpful in providing information for the development of Darwin's theory on The Origin of Species. He was a staunch supporter of Darwin in America, and collected together a number of his own writings to produce an influential book, Darwiniana. These essays argued for a conciliation between Darwinian evolution and the tenets of orthodox Protestant Christianity, at a time when many on both sides perceived the two as mutually exclusive. For other people of the same surname, and places and things named after Charles Darwin, see Darwin. ... The Development of Darwins theory began with a search for explanations of contradictions in current faith based ideas, and led him to formulate his theory of evolution which was eventually published in his book On the Origin of Species, a turning point in the history of evolutionary thought. ... Charles Darwins Origin of Species (publ. ...

The Asa Gray Award, the highest award of the American Society of Plant Taxonomists, was established in 1984 to honor a living botanist for career achievements.

This is a list of botanists by their author abbreviation, including that established by Brummitt & Powell (1992), designed for citation in the botanical names they have published. ... In botanical nomenclature, author citation refers to the person (or team) who valid published the name, i. ... A botanical name is a formal name conforming to the ICBN. As with its zoological and bacterial equivalents it may also be called a scientific name. Botanical names may be in one part (genus and above), two parts (species) or three parts (below the rank of species). ...

References

• Asa Gray. Dictionary of American Biography. American Council of Learned Societies, 1928-1936.
• Asa Gray. Encyclopedia of World Biography, 2nd ed. 17 Vols. Gale Research, 1998.
• Asa Gray. Plant Sciences. 4 vols. Macmillan Reference USA, 2001.

Further reading

• Dupree, A. H. Asa Gray, 1810-1888. Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1959.
• Gray, Jane Loring, ed. Letters of Asa Gray. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1893. Includes autobiography, 1810-1843.
• Scientific Papers of Asa Gray, Volume I, selected by Charles Sprague Sargent
• Scientific Papers of Asa Gray, Volume II, selected by Charles Sprague Sargent
• Works by Asa Gray at Project Gutenberg
• Charles Darwin and Asa Gray Discuss Teleology and Design, by Sara Joan Miles. (American Scientific Affilliation)