Alphonso Wood (1810 – January 4, 1881) was an American botanist and theology instructor. He was the author of several works on botany that were popularly used as instructional texts in the 19th century.

Career

Wood studied at both

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College (; ) is a private research university in Hanover, New Hampshire. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, it is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the American Revolution. Although founded to educate Native ...

and

Andover Theological Seminary Andover Theological Seminary (1807–1965) was a Congregationalist seminary founded in 1807 and originally located in Andover, Massachusetts on the campus of Phillips Academy. From 1908 to 1931, it was located at Harvard University in Cambridge. ...

. He started his teaching career as the Latin and natural science instructor at

Kimball Union Academy Kimball Union Academy is a private boarding school located in New Hampshire. Founded in 1813, it is the 22nd oldest boarding school in the United States. The academy's mission is to "create a deep sense of belonging for every member of our commu ...

Meriden, New Hampshire Meriden is an unincorporated community in the eastern part of the town of Plainfield in Sullivan County, New Hampshire, United States. Meriden is home to Kimball Union Academy, a private boarding school. New Hampshire Route 120 passes through t ...

. Later he served as the President of the Female Seminary of Cleveland, Ohio, Principal of the Clinton Female Seminary in Brooklyn, and professor of botany at Terre Haute Female College in

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

. He retired from his instructional work in 1867 and lived the remainder of his life in West Farms, New York. In an obituary in ''The Gardener's Monthly and Horticulturist'', Wood was described as performing the important task of taking the progressive scientific research of botanists and making their "knowledge widely distributed" through "universal" textbooks."Prof. Alphonso Wood"
(1881). ''The Gardener's monthly and horticulturist, 23''. Retrieved 2012-10-28.

References

External links

*
View works by Alphonso Wood
at Biodiversity Heritage Library. {{DEFAULTSORT:Wood, Alphonso 1810 births 1881 deaths American botanical writers American male non-fiction writers American Christian theologians American educators Botanists with author abbreviations Dartmouth College alumni Andover Newton Theological School alumni