Forrest Shreve (July 8, 1878 – July 19, 1950) was an internationally known American botanist. His professional career was devoted to the study of the distribution of vegetation as determined by soil and climate conditions. His contributions to the plant biology world set the groundwork for modern studies and his books are regarded as classics by botanists worldwide.

Early life and education

Shreve, the son of Henry and Helen Garrison Shreve, was born in

Easton, Maryland Easton is an incorporated town in and the county seat of Talbot County, Maryland, United States. The population was 15,945 at the 2010 census, with an estimated population in 2019 of 16,671. The primary ZIP Code is 21601, and the secondary ...

. After receiving his preparatory education at

George School George School is a private Quaker (Society of Friends) boarding and day high school located on a rural campus in Middletown Township, Bucks County, Pennsylvania ( Newtown postal address). It was founded at its present site in 1893, and has grow ...

, in Newtown,

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

, Shreve earned his BA at

Johns Hopkins University Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hem ...

in 1901. He earned his

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...

from the same university in 1905. From 1904 to 1908, Shreve conducted a botanical survey of the state of

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

Career

From 1905 to 1906, and again in 1909, Shreve studied the mountain vegetation of

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

. In 1906, he became an associate professor of botany at

Goucher College Goucher College ( ') is a private liberal arts college in Towson, Maryland. It was chartered in 1885 by a conference in Baltimore led by namesake John F. Goucher and local leaders of the Methodist Episcopal Church.https://archive.org/details/h ...

, and remained there until 1908, when he moved to

Tucson , "(at the) base of the black ill , nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town" , image_map = , mapsize = 260px , map_caption = Interactive map ...

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

, to work at the

Carnegie Institution The Carnegie Institution of Washington (the organization's legal name), known also for public purposes as the Carnegie Institution for Science (CIS), is an organization in the United States established to fund and perform scientific research. T ...

of Washington's Desert Library. From 1911 to 1919, Shreve worked as an editor of the botanical scientific journal '' Plant World''. In 1914, Shreve published his book ''A Montane Rain-forest''. In 1915, he helped found the

Ecological Society of America The Ecological Society of America (ESA) is a professional organization of ecological scientists. Based in the United States and founded in 1915, ESA publications include peer-reviewed journals, newsletters, fact sheets, and teaching resources. I ...

, where he served as a secretary-treasurer until 1919, and as president, in 1921. In 1926, Shreve worked as an editor of the book ''Naturalist's Guide to the Americas''. In 1928, Shreve was placed in charge of Desert Investigations of the Carnegie Institution, and in 1932 he began floristics studies on the

Sonoran Desert The Sonoran Desert ( es, Desierto de Sonora) is a desert in North America and ecoregion that covers the northwestern Mexican states of Sonora, Baja California, and Baja California Sur, as well as part of the southwestern United States (in Arizona ...

region. He served as vice president of the

Association of American Geographers The American Association of Geographers (AAG) is a non-profit scientific and educational society aimed at advancing the understanding, study, and importance of geography and related fields. Its headquarters is located in Washington, D.C. The ...

in 1940, and published "The Desert Vegetation of North America" in ''Botanical Review''. He retired in 1946.

Personal life

His religious affiliation was with the

Society of Friends Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belief in each human's abili ...

. Politically, he was a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

. His hobby was collecting and studying stamps. He married Edith Coffin on June 17, 1909 in

Florence, AL Florence is a city in, and the county seat of, Lauderdale County, Alabama, United States, in the state's northwestern corner. It is situated along the Tennessee River and is home to the University of North Alabama, the oldest college in the st ...

(aged 30), and had a daughter, Margaret. He died in

Tucson , "(at the) base of the black ill , nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town" , image_map = , mapsize = 260px , map_caption = Interactive map ...

in 1950.

Publications

''The Plant Life of Maryland''
The Johns Hopkins Press. 1910.
''A Montane Rain-forest: A Contribution to the Physiological Plant Geography in Jamaica''
Carnegie Institute of Washington. Washington D.C: 1914.
''The Vegetation of a Desert Mountain Range as Conditioned by Climatic Factors''
Carnegie Institute of Washington. Washington D.C.: 1915.
''Naturalist's Guide to the Americas''
(editor). 1926.

The Williams & Wilkins company. 1931.
"The Desert Vegetation of North America"
''The Botanical Review''. Vol. 8, No. 4 (Apr., 1942), pp. 195–246.

(posthumously). Stanford University Press. 1964.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shreve, Forrest 1878 births 1950 deaths Johns Hopkins University alumni Goucher College faculty and staff 19th-century American botanists 20th-century American botanists People from Bucks County, Pennsylvania People from Easton, Maryland Scientists from Maryland Maryland Republicans American Quakers 19th-century Quakers 20th-century Quakers