Robert Statham Williams (May 6, 1859 – March 14, 1945) was an American bryologist who specialized in the mosses of the

Yukon Yukon (; ; formerly called Yukon Territory and also referred to as the Yukon) is the smallest and westernmost of Canada's three territories. It also is the second-least populated province or territory in Canada, with a population of 43,964 as ...

and

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...

Early life

Williams was born in

Minneapolis, Minnesota Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

on May 6, 1859. Since childhood, he had always been interested in natural history, particularly in birds and plants. As a teen, he published a series of nature columns in a Minneapolis newspaper. Williams, captivated by ornithology, prepared an almost complete set of taxidermied skins of birds from Minnesota. He sold his collection to the Minnesota Museum of Natural History to fund his later explorations, a decision which he regretted later in life.

Career

In 1879, at the age of 20, Williams moved from his hometown of

Montana Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columbi ...

. Here, he made a living working as a miner, businessman, and explorer. Williams lived as a homesteader, and built the first cabin in what became the city of

Great Falls, Montana Great Falls is the third most populous city in the U.S. state of Montana and the county seat of Cascade County. The population was 60,442 according to the 2020 census. The city covers an area of and is the principal city of the Great Falls, M ...

. While living in Montana, Columbia College, on behalf of Elizabeth Britton, gave Williams a grant to collect bryophytes in the area. In 1898, Williams followed the Klondike Gold Rush, taking the

Chilkoot Trail The Chilkoot Trail is a 33-mile (53 km) trail through the Coast Mountains that leads from Dyea, Alaska, in the United States, to Bennett, British Columbia, in Canada. It was a major access route from the coast to Yukon goldfields in the late ...

to the

. Williams conducted business rather than searching for gold, which earned him a small fortune. In his spare time, he began to collect plants. The specimens he gathered during 1898 and 1899 represent the first extensive collections made in the Klondike. In 1899, Williams traveled to New York. He arrived at the

New York Botanical Garden The New York Botanical Garden (NYBG) is a botanical garden at Bronx Park in the Bronx, New York City. Established in 1891, it is located on a site that contains a landscape with over one million living plants; the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory, ...

with his plant collections and determinations, and was hired as a museum aide by

Nathaniel Britton Nathaniel Lord Britton (January 15, 1859 – June 25, 1934) was an American botanist and taxonomist who co-founded the New York Botanical Garden in the Bronx, New York. Early life Britton was born in New Dorp in Staten Island, New York to Jasper ...

. In 1901, under direction of

Henry Hurd Rusby Henry Hurd Rusby (1855–1940) was an American botanist, pharmacist and explorer. He discovered several new species of plants and played a significant role in founding the New York Botanical Garden and developing research and exploration progra ...

, Williams was sent to

Bolivia , image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg , flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center , flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...

and

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

. He worked as a botanist for an exploration party, collecting seeds and materials from more than 200 species of vascular plants found in the

Amazon basin The Amazon basin is the part of South America drained by the Amazon River and its tributaries. The Amazon drainage basin covers an area of about , or about 35.5 percent of the South American continent. It is located in the countries of Bolivi ...

for use by the Garden. He also collected moss specimens for his personal research. In 1903, he was sent to the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

to collect specimens on the islands of

Luzon Luzon (; ) is the largest and most populous island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the Philippines archipelago, it is the economic and political center of the nation, being home to the country's capital city, Manila, as ...

and

Mindanao Mindanao ( ) ( Jawi: مينداناو) is the second-largest island in the Philippines, after Luzon, and seventh-most populous island in the world. Located in the southern region of the archipelago, the island is part of an island group of ...

. He returned in 1905. His last expedition was to Panama in 1908. He also collected specimens of exotic and local birds, many of which are now in the collection of the

American Museum of Natural History The American Museum of Natural History (abbreviated as AMNH) is a natural history museum on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. In Theodore Roosevelt Park, across the street from Central Park, the museum complex comprises 26 inter ...

. In 1906, he was named assistant curator of the New York Botanical Garden, and in 1910, he advanced to administrative assistant. From 1924 to 1930, he served as president of the

Sullivant Moss Society The American Bryological and Lichenological Society is an organization devoted to the scientific study of all aspects of the biology of bryophytes and lichen-forming fungi and is one of the nation's oldest botanical organizations. It was originall ...

. In 1932, his title became research assistant in bryology at the New York Botanical Garden. In 1936, he took a permanent leave of absence from the garden and returned to his childhood home in Minneapolis, where he remained until his death.

Legacy

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

of flowering plants, '' Williamsia'', and two genera of mosses, '' Williamsia'' and '' Williamsiella'', are named in his honor. Several

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

of flowering plants from areas of his expeditions also bear his name.

Selected publications

* * * * * * * *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Robert Statham American botanists Bryologists Botanists with author abbreviations 1859 births 1945 deaths