Alvah Augustus Eaton (November 20, 1865 – September 29, 1908) was an
American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
botanist
Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek wo ...
who described many species of
pteridophytes
A pteridophyte is a vascular plant (with xylem and phloem) that disperses spores. Because pteridophytes produce neither flowers nor seeds, they are sometimes referred to as "cryptogams", meaning that their means of reproduction is hidden. Ferns, ...
, orchids and grass.
Early life
Eaton was born in
Seabrook,
New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...
, and moved to a family farm in
Salisbury
Salisbury ( ) is a cathedral city in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers Avon, Nadder and Bourne. The city is approximately from Southampton and from Bath.
Salisbury is in the southeast of Wil ...
,
when he was twelve. He finished a four-year high school education within two years at Putnam School in
Newburyport
Newburyport is a coastal city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, northeast of Boston. The population was 18,289 at the 2020 census. A historic seaport with vibrant tourism industry, Newburyport includes part of Plum Island. The mo ...
.
Career
He worked as a teacher for a year in Seabrook, and for three more in California, along with farming. After returning to New England, he decided to become a florist due to pressure from poor health. He went on three field trips to Florida and one to Europe for the Ames Botanical Laboratory in
Easton, Massachusetts.
He was a member of the Linnean Fern Chapter, precursor to the
American Fern Society
The American Fern Society was founded in 1893. Today, it has more than 1,000 members around the world, with various local chapters. Among its deceased members, perhaps the most famous is Oliver Sacks, who became a member in 1993.
Willard N. Clut ...
. He frequently contributed to the ''Fern Bulletin'' and developed an
Herbarium
A herbarium (plural: herbaria) is a collection of preserved plant specimens and associated data used for scientific study.
The specimens may be whole plants or plant parts; these will usually be in dried form mounted on a sheet of paper (called ...
for the Society. Until his death in 1908, he was curator of the herbarium.
Works
Much of his work is documented at the
Gray Herbarium
The Harvard University Herbaria and Botanical Museum are institutions located on the grounds of Harvard University at 22 Divinity Avenue, Cambridge, Massachusetts. The Botanical Museum is one of three which comprise the Harvard Museum of Natural ...
of
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
. The documents consist of sixteen notebooks written between approximately 1895 and 1906, four letters from 1899 to 1905, and a few undated manuscripts.
References
External links
*
Biography of Alvah Augustus Eaton*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Eaton, Alvah Augustus
Botanists with author abbreviations
American botanists
Pteridologists
1865 births
1908 deaths
People from Seabrook, New Hampshire
People from Salisbury, Massachusetts