Louis Forniquet Henderson (September 17, 1853 – June 14, 1942) was an American botanist.
Early life
Louis Henderson, grandson of
U.S. Senator John Henderson of
Mississippi
Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...
, was born in
Roxbury, Massachusetts, United States, on September 17, 1853. His father, John Henderson Jr., was a New Orleans lawyer. His mother, Catharine Leland, belonged to a prominent Massachusetts family. His older brother, John Leland Henderson, was born in
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
, Massachusetts, in 1851. His father, who was a supporter of Lincoln, was murdered shortly after the Civil War, at which time, his mother took Louis and his brother John north. Henderson attended Cornell University, studying languages and botany. He arrived in Oregon in 1877 and became a teacher at
Portland High School. Six years later, he married fellow teacher Kate Robinson; the couple had two daughters.
Botanical career
Henderson became one of the first botany professors at the
University of Idaho
The University of Idaho (U of I, or UIdaho) is a public land-grant research university in Moscow, Idaho. It is the state's land-grant and primary research university,, and the lead university in the Idaho Space Grant Consortium. The University ...
in 1893. While there he taught as many as 8 classes per week. He made several field expeditions while at Idaho and published four new species. He acquired over 10,000 samples for the university's
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 ...
between 1893 and 1906. The herbarium burned to the ground on March 30, 1906. Nonetheless, he continued in academia for several years afterward and some of his work survived through exchanges he had made with other herbariums.
Henderson was considered one of the most knowledgeable botanists of the northwest United States at the time of his death. Over his career he cataloged 64 different taxa.
Death
Henderson died in a
Puyallup nursing home on June 14, 1942, at the age of 88.
Legacy
Northwest plant species named after Louis Forniquet Henderson include ''
Agrostis hendersonii'', ''
Angelica hendersonii
''Angelica hendersonii'' is a species of angelica known as Henderson's angelica. It is native to the west coast of the United States from Washington to central California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along t ...
'', ''
Cryptantha hendersonii'', ''
Dodecatheon hendersonii'', ''
Erythronium hendersonii'', ''
Horkelia hendersonii'', ''
Petrophytum hendersonii'', ''
Phlox hendersonii'', and ''
Sidalcea hendersonii''.
Mount Henderson in the Olympic Mountains is named after him.
[Olympic Mountains: A Climbing Guide, Olympic Mountain Rescue, Fourth Edition, 2006, The Mountaineers Books, page 60]
References
Henderson's biography at The Oregon EncyclopediaA biography in the Idaho Native Plant Society newslatter
Further reading
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Henderson, Louis Forniquet
1853 births
1942 deaths
American botanists
Scientists from Boston
Cornell University College of Agriculture and Life Sciences alumni
Scientists from Portland, Oregon
Educators from Oregon
People from Puyallup, Washington
University of Idaho faculty