George Schoener, or Georg Schöner (March 21, 1864 – October 2, 1941) was a German-born

Roman Catholic priest The priesthood is the office of the ministers of religion, who have been commissioned ("ordained") with the Holy orders of the Catholic Church. Technically, bishops are a priestly order as well; however, in layman's terms ''priest'' refers only ...

who became known in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

as the "Padre of the Roses" for his experiments in

rose A rose is either a woody perennial flowering plant of the genus ''Rosa'' (), in the family Rosaceae (), or the flower it bears. There are over three hundred species and tens of thousands of cultivars. They form a group of plants that can be ...

breeding, especially in the use of wild species. Only two of his creations survive today, however: 'Arrilaga' and 'Schoener's Nutkana'. He was born into a peasant family of Steinach,

Baden Baden (; ) is a historical territory in South Germany, in earlier times on both sides of the Upper Rhine but since the Napoleonic Wars only East of the Rhine. History The margraves of Baden originated from the House of Zähringen. Baden is ...

. He studied in

Engelberg , neighboring_municipalities = Attinghausen (UR), Gadmen (BE), Innertkirchen (BE), Isenthal (UR), Wassen (UR), Wolfenschiessen (NW) , twintowns= Engelberg (lit.: ''mountain of angel(s)'') is a village resort and a municipality in the canton ...

and

Einsiedeln Einsiedeln () is a municipality and district in the canton of Schwyz in Switzerland known for its monastery, the Benedictine Einsiedeln Abbey, established in the 10th century. History Early history There was no permanent settlement in the area p ...

from 1883 to 1889. An aunt enabled him to emigrate to America, where he became a priest in

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

. Afflicted with illnesses, he ended up in

Brooks, Oregon Brooks is an unincorporated community in Marion County, Oregon, United States. For statistical purposes, the United States Census Bureau has defined Brooks as a census-designated place (CDP). The census definition of the area may not precisely co ...

in 1911, where the rose growing activity in nearby

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

caught his interest. He searched the nearby hills for specimens of wild species such as ''

Rosa nutkana ''Rosa nutkana'', the Nootka rose, bristly rose, or wild rose is a perennial shrub in the rose family (Rosaceae).Santa Barbara, California Santa Barbara ( es, Santa Bárbara, meaning "Saint Barbara") is a coastal city in Santa Barbara County, California, of which it is also the county seat. Situated on a south-facing section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Coas ...

In 1939 he took up a position at

Santa Clara University Santa Clara University is a private Jesuit university in Santa Clara, California. Established in 1851, Santa Clara University is the oldest operating institution of higher learning in California. The university's campus surrounds the historic Mis ...

Santa Clara, California Santa Clara (; Spanish for " Saint Clare") is a city in Santa Clara County, California. The city's population was 127,647 at the 2020 census, making it the eighth-most populous city in the Bay Area. Located in the southern Bay Area, the cit ...

, but died just two years later. The ''Georg-Schöner-Schule'', a

primary school A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary e ...

in his hometown, Steinach, is named after him.

Notes

External links

Online bio, with pictures

{{DEFAULTSORT:Schoener, George 1864 births 1941 deaths People from Ortenaukreis People from the Grand Duchy of Baden American Roman Catholic priests American botanists Rose breeders German emigrants to the United States Catholic clergy scientists People from Marion County, Oregon Catholics from Oregon

See also

Notes

External links