Henry Shoemaker Conard (1874 - 1971) was a leading authority on

bryophytes The Bryophyta s.l. are a proposed taxonomic division containing three groups of non-vascular land plants (embryophytes): the liverworts, hornworts and mosses. Bryophyta s.s. consists of the mosses only. They are characteristically limited i ...

and

water lilies ''Water Lilies'' (or ''Nymphéas'', ) is a series of approximately 250 oil paintings by French Impressionist Claude Monet (1840–1926). The paintings depict his flower garden at his home in Giverny, and were the main focus of his artisti ...

, as well as an early advocate of environmental preservation. From 1906 to 1955, Professor Conard worked at

Grinnell College Grinnell College is a private liberal arts college in Grinnell, Iowa, United States. It was founded in 1846 when a group of New England Congregationalists established the Trustees of Iowa College. Grinnell has the fifth highest endowment-to-stu ...

Grinnell, Iowa Grinnell is a city in Poweshiek County, Iowa, United States. The population was 9,564 at the time of the 2020 census. It is best known for being the home of Grinnell College. History Grinnell was founded by settlers from New England who we ...

.Welch and LeBlanc 1972, p. 558 In 1954, he became the first to receive the

Eminent Ecologist Award The Eminent Ecologist Award is prize awarded annually to a senior ecologist in recognition of an outstanding contribution to the science of ecology. The prize is awarded by the Ecological Society of America. According to the statutes, the recipient ...

from 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 ...

, an award that has continued annually ever since. In 1969, Grinnell acquired a plot of

cropland Agricultural land is typically land ''devoted to'' agriculture, the systematic and controlled use of other forms of lifeparticularly the rearing of livestock and production of cropsto produce food for humans. It is generally synonymous with bot ...

and established the

Conard Environmental Research Area The Henry S. Conard Environmental Research Area (CERA) is a protected environmental research facility at outside Kellogg, Iowa. The 365-acre (148 ha) facility is owned and operated by Grinnell College for class use in the study of ecology and st ...

, in recognition of the legacy of the longtime professor.

Early years

Conard was born September 12, 1874 in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

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, ...

, to Thomas Pennington Conard, director of the West Grove boarding school, and Rebecca Savery Baldwin Conard. His uncle, Alfred Fellenberg Conard, was a horticulturalist, specializing in the development and sale of rose varieties. Henry Conard attended Friends' Select School in Philadelphia from 1881 to 1888. He entered Westtown Friends' Boarding School in

Westtown, Pennsylvania Westtown Township is a township in Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 10,827 at the 2010 census. History County Bridge No. 148 was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1988. Geography Accordin ...

in 1889 and graduated as

valedictorian Valedictorian is an academic title for the highest-performing student of a graduating class of an academic institution. The valedictorian is commonly determined by a numerical formula, generally an academic institution's grade point average (GPA ...

in 1892. He then enrolled at

Haverford College Haverford College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Haverford, Pennsylvania. It was founded as a men's college in 1833 by members of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), began accepting non-Quakers in 1849, and became coeducational ...

, where he earned a B.S. in biology in 1895 and an M.A. in biology in 1895. While at Haverford, he was inducted into

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States, and the most prestigious, due in part to its long history and academic selectivity. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal a ...

Career

After a short time teaching science in Westtown, he entered the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

as a Harrison Fellow in Biology in 1899, completing his Ph.D. in botany in 1901 and joining

Sigma Xi Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Honor Society () is a highly prestigious, non-profit honor society for scientists and engineers. Sigma Xi was founded at Cornell University by a junior faculty member and a small group of graduate students in 1886 ...

. After receiving his doctorate, Conard taught

botany 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 w ...

at the university from 1901 to 1905. From 1905 to 1906, he was a Johnston Scholar 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 1906, Conard left Johns Hopkins to take a professorship in botany at

. During his tenure at Grinnell, Professor Conard served as chair of the department of botany and, starting in 1935, as Chairman of the Faculty. He received emeritus faculty status in 1944. After his retirement, Professor Conard continued to be academically active, notably curating the

bryophyte The Bryophyta s.l. are a proposed taxonomic division containing three groups of non-vascular land plants (embryophytes): the liverworts, hornworts and mosses. Bryophyta s.s. consists of the mosses only. They are characteristically limited in ...

collections at the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is org ...

and running the Moss Clinic at th
Iowa Lakeside Laboratory
He is honoured in the naming in 1976, of ''

Conardia ''Conardia'' is a genus of mosses belonging to the family Amblystegiaceae. The genus was first described by Harold E. Robinson. The genus name of ''Conardia'' is in honour of Henry Shoemaker Conard (1874 - 1971), an American botanist who was a ...

'',which is a genus of

mosses Mosses are small, non-vascular flowerless plants in the taxonomic division Bryophyta (, ) ''sensu stricto''. Bryophyta (''sensu lato'', Schimp. 1879) may also refer to the parent group bryophytes, which comprise liverworts, mosses, and horn ...

belonging to the family

Amblystegiaceae Amblystegiaceae is a family of mosses. It includes 20 to 30 genus, genera with a total of up to 150 species.

Personal life

Conard's first wife, E. Letitia Moon Conard, was a sociologist and politician who died in 1946. He married Louisa Sargent in 1950, with whom he moved to

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

in 1955, where they resided until his death on October 7, 1971 in

Haines City, Florida Haines City is a city in Polk County, Florida, United States. Its population was 13,174 at the 2000 census and 20,535 at the 2010 census. It is the third most populous city in Polk County. It is part of the Lakeland– Winter Haven Metropolitan S ...

. He had three children, Elizabeth Conard, Rebecca Conard and Alfred F. Conard. Alfred Fletcher Conard (1911-2009) graduated from Grinnell College in 1932, while his father was still on the college faculty, and proceeded to join the faculty of the

University of Michigan Law School The University of Michigan Law School (Michigan Law) is the law school of the University of Michigan, a Public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Founded in 1859, the school offers Master of Laws (LLM), Master of C ...

in 1954 and receive an honorary doctorate from Grinnell in 1971.

Selected publications

* * * ** ''How to Know the Mosses and Liverworts'', 2nd edition with 55 added picture keys, 1956 * with Paul L. Redfearn Jr.: ''How to Know the

Mosses Mosses are small, non-vascular flowerless plants in the taxonomic division Bryophyta (, ) ''sensu stricto''. Bryophyta (''sensu lato'', Schimp. 1879) may also refer to the parent group bryophytes, which comprise liverworts, mosses, and horn ...

and Liverworts'' (1979), revised 2nd edition,

Dubuque, Iowa Dubuque (, ) is the county seat of Dubuque County, Iowa, United States, located along the Mississippi River. At the time of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population of Dubuque was 59,667. The city lies at the junction of Iowa, Il ...

: W.C. Brown

Notes

References

*
Conard biography and text of ''Nyphaeae, The Waterlilies''
The site also includes a 1944 photo of Professor Conard.

External links

Digitized works by Henry S. Conrad
at

Biodiversity Heritage Library The Biodiversity Heritage Library (BHL) is the world’s largest open access digital library for biodiversity literature and archives. BHL operates as worldwide consortiumof natural history, botanical, research, and national libraries working toge ...

. * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Conard, Henry Shoemaker 1874 births 1971 deaths Haverford College alumni University of Pennsylvania alumni Grinnell College faculty American botanists University of Michigan Law School faculty