David Fairchild in 1889, while employed at the United States Department of Agriculture

David Grandison Fairchild (April 7, 1869 - August 6, 1954) was an American botanist and plant explorer. Fairchild was responsible for the introduction of more than 20,000 exotic plants and varieties of established crops into the United States, including mangos, alfalfa, nectarines, dates, horseradish, bamboos and flowering cherries. Image File history File links David Fairchild, National Agriculture Library, Special Collections, Galloway Photograph Album File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Image File history File links David Fairchild, National Agriculture Library, Special Collections, Galloway Photograph Album File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... The U.S. Department of Agriculture, also called the Agriculture Department, or USDA, is a Cabinet department of the United States Federal Government. ... April 7 is the 97th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (98th in leap years). ... 1869 is a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... August 6 is the 218th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (219th in leap years), with 147 days remaining. ... 1954 (MCMLIV) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Botany is the scientific study of plant life. ... Crop has several meanings: A crop is a plant domesticated for use in agriculture, considered as a group (eg. ... This article is about the fruit. ... Species Medicago arabica Medicago heldreichii Medicago hybrida Medicago laciniata Medicago littoralis Medicago lupulina Medicago minima Medicago monantha Medicago monspeliaca Medicago orbicularis Medicago polymorpha Medicago praecox Medicago rigidula Medicago rugosa Medicago ruthenica Medicago sativa Medicago scutellata Medicago secundiflora Medicago truncatula Medicago turbinata Ref: ITIS 183622 as of 2002-07-31 Alfalfa... Nectarine can mean: A kind of peach, see Peach A demoscene radio, see Nectarine (radio). ... The term date can refer to: A day according to a calendar; see calendar date. ... Binomial name Armoracia rusticana P.G. Gaertn. ... Genera Many, see text Bamboos are a group of woody perennial evergreen plants in the grass family Poaceae, subfamily Bambusoideae. ... Wildflowers A flower is the reproductive structure of those plants classified as angiosperms (flowering plants; Division Magnoliophyta). ... A cherry is both a tree and its fleshy fruit, a type known as a drupe with a single hard pit enclosing the seed. ...

Fairchild was born in Lansing, Michigan, and was raised in Manhattan, Kansas. He graduated from Kansas State College of Agriculture (B.A. 1888, M.S. 1889) where his father, George Fairchild, was president. He continued his studies at Iowa State and at Rutgers with his uncle, Byron Halsted, a noted biologist. He received an honorary D.Sc. degree from Oberlin College in 1915. Capitol Building Lansing is the capital city of the U.S. state of Michigan, located mostly in Ingham County; a small portion extends into adjacent Eaton County. ... Riley County Courthouse, Manhattan Manhattan is a town located in northeastern Kansas at the junction of the Kansas River and Big Blue River. ... State nickname: The Sunflower State Other U.S. States Capital Topeka Largest city Wichita Governor Kathleen Sebelius (D) Senators Sam Brownback (R) Pat Roberts (R) Official languages None Area 82,277 mi²; 213,096 km² (15th)  - Land 81,815 mi²; 211,900 km²  - Water 462 mi²; 1,196 km² (0. ... Kansas State University (sometimes referred to as K-State) is an institution of higher learning located in Manhattan, Kansas. ... George Thompson Fairchild (1838-1901) was an American educator. ... Iowa State University (ISU) is a public land-grant university and space-grant university located in Ames, Iowa. ... Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey is the largest institution for higher education in the U.S. state of New Jersey. ... Byron David Halsted (1852-1918) was a noted American biologist and educator. ...

Barbour Lathrop, a wealthy world traveler, persuaded Fairchild to became a plant explorer for the US Department of Agriculture. Barbour financed Fairchilds early travels and accompanied him on many of them. Of some of his early travels, Fairchild wrote, "I am glad that I saw a few of the quiet places of the world before the coming of automobiles and jazz." [The World Was my Garden, page 103]. Thomas Barbour Lathrop (1847- May 17,1927). ...

In 1905, Fairchild married Marian, a daughter of Alexander Graham Bell. Following his marriage, Fairchild concentrated on managing the Foreign Seed and Plant Introduction program of the Department of Agriculture in Washington, DC. He and his family lived on a 40 acre estate, "In the Woods," in the Maryland suburbs near Bell's home. Alexander Graham Bell (March 3, 1847 – August 2, 1922) was a scientist, inventor, founder of Bell Canada, and was formerly credited as father of the telephone. ... Alexander Graham Bell (March 3, 1847 – August 2, 1922) was a scientist, inventor, founder of Bell Canada, and was formerly credited as father of the telephone. ...

In 1916, Fairchild bought an estate in Coconut Grove, Florida. It was named "The Kampong" after family residence compounds in Java. In his later life, Fairchild spent more and more time at the Kampong.

In 1938, he was instrumental in founding the Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden in Florida. He advocate the establishment of the Everglades National Park. In 1986, The Kampong became National Tropical Botanical Garden. 1938 (MCMXXXVIII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ... Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden is a superb, 33 ha (83 acre) botanic garden, with extensive collections of rare tropical plants including palms, cycads, flowering trees and vines, located in Coral Gables, Florida. ... State nickname: Sunshine State Other U.S. States Capital Tallahassee Largest city Jacksonville Governor Jeb Bush (R) Senators Bill Nelson (D) Mel Martinez (R) Official language(s) English Area 170,451 km² (22nd)  - Land 137,374 km²  - Water 30,486 km² (17. ... Everglades National Park is a U.S. National Park which preserves the southern portion of the Everglades (all south of Tamiami Trail), but represents only 20 percent of the original wetland area. ... The Kampong is an 8 acre (32,000 m²) tropical garden incorporating tropical plants of all varieties, with a particular emphasis on tropical fruits. ... The National Tropical Botanical Garden (1,600 acres) is a privately-funded group of botanical gardens operated under charter from the United States Congress. ...

Fairchild was a trustee of the National Geographic Society for many years. His brother-in-law, Gilbert Grosvenor was the longtime president of the Society and editor of the National Geographic Magazine. Flag of the National Geographic Society The National Geographic Society was founded in the United States on January 27, 1888, by 33 men interested in organizing a society for the increase and diffusion of geographical knowledge. ... Gilbert Hovey Grosvenor (1875–1966) was the founder and first editor of the National Geographic Magazine from 1903 to 1954. ...

His son, Alexander Graham Bell Fairchild became a research entomologist. Alexander Graham Bell Fairchild (1907-1994) was an American entomologist. ...

Writings

Fairchild wrote several books in later life that described his travels and activities. In addition to his observations about biology, Fairchild gives graphic accounts of societies gone by. Those books include:

• The World Was my Garden: Travels of a Plant Explorer. (New York: C. Scribner's Sons, 1938)

• Garden Islands of the East: Collecting Seeds fro the Philippines and Netherlands India in the Junk 'Chêng ho. (New York: C. Scribner's Sons, 1945)

• The World Grows Round My Door; The Story of The Kampong, a Home on The Edge of the Tropics. (New York: C. Scribner's Sons, 1947)

In addition Fairchild wrote many monographs about then exotic plants or about technical aspects of plant exploring and the transportation and cultivation of new plants.

Reference

• Douglas, Marjory Stoneman. Adventures in a Green World: the Story of David Fairchild and Barbour Lathrop. (Coconut Grove, Florida: Field Research Projects, 1973)

• "Fairchild, David (Grandison)", Current Biography, 1953: 190-193.

• "Fairchild, David (Grandison)" (obituary), Current Biography, 1954: 266.

• "Fairchild, David Grandison." American National Biography (1999). 7:680-681. Also available in: American National Biography Online.

• "Fairchild, David Grandison." National Cyclopaedia of American Biography (1930). C:253-254

Marjory Stoneman Douglas (April 7, 1890 - May 14, 1998) was an eminent conservationist and writer. ...

External Link

David Gandison Fairchild in Everglades Biographies