Volney Morgan Spalding (January 29, 1849 – November 12, 1918) was an American

botanist 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 wo ...

affiliated with the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

for twenty-eight years, and for most of this period was head of the botany department. Spalding was born in

East Bloomfield, New York East Bloomfield is a Administrative divisions of New York#Town, town in Ontario County, New York, Ontario County, New York (state), New York, United States. The population was 3,661 at the 2020 census. The Town of East Bloomfield is in the western ...

, the son of Frederick Austin and Almira (Shaw) Spalding. His father was of English descent and his mother of Scotch-Irish descent. He received a preliminary education in the public schools of

Gorham, New York Gorham is a town in Ontario County, New York, United States. The population was 4,130 at the 2020 census. The town is named after Nathaniel Gorham. The Town of Gorham is at the southern border of the county, southeast of Canandaigua. History ...

, and Ann Arbor, Michigan. He entered the

in 1869 and was graduated Bachelor of Arts in 1873. His further preparation for professional life included work in Cryptogamic and Physiological Botany at

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

, in Anatomy at Cornell, in Histology at 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 ...

, and in Plant Physiology at the

University of Jena The University of Jena, officially the Friedrich Schiller University Jena (german: Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena, abbreviated FSU, shortened form ''Uni Jena''), is a public research university located in Jena, Thuringia, Germany. The un ...

. The years from 1892 to 1894 he spent at the

University of Leipzig Leipzig University (german: Universität Leipzig), in Leipzig in Saxony, Germany, is one of the world's oldest universities and the second-oldest university (by consecutive years of existence) in Germany. The university was founded on 2 Decemb ...

, where he received the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at the conclusion of his studies. The years from 1873 to 1876 were spent in public school work, first as principal of the Battle Creek High School, and later of the Flint High School. He was called to the University of Michigan in 1876, and filled the following positions successively: Instructor in Zoology and Botany, 1876-1879; Assistant Professor of Botany, 1879-1881; Acting Professor of Botany, 1881-1886; Professor of Botany, 1886-1904. He resigned his professorship in 1904 to reside in a more salubrious climate, and became connected with the

Desert Botanical Laboratory The Desert Laboratory is a historic biological research facility atop Tumamoc Hill ( O'odham: ''Cemamagĭ Doʼag'') at 1675 West Anklam Road in Tucson, Arizona. It was founded by the Carnegie Institution in 1903 to study how plants survive and t ...

of 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 ...

, at

Tucson, Arizona , "(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 ...

. He is the author of "Guide to the Study of Common Plants and Introduction to Botany" (1894), and of a large number of papers in the scientific journals. He was a member of the Michigan Academy of Science, and was its president in 1898. He was also a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, a member of the Association Internationale des Botanistes, and an honorary member of the

Society of American Foresters The Society of American Foresters (SAF) is a professional organization representing the forestry industry in the United States. Its mission statement declares that it seeks to "advance the science, education, and practice of forestry; to enhance t ...

. He was married in 1876 to Harriet Hubbard; and some years after her death, to botanist

Effie A. Southworth Effie Almira Southworth Spalding (1860–1947), was an American botanist and mycologist, and the first woman plant pathologist hired by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Her most important discovery was the 1887 identification o ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Spalding, Volney Morgan 1849 births 1918 deaths American botanists University of Michigan faculty University of Michigan alumni Leipzig University alumni People from East Bloomfield, New York Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science American people of English descent American people of Scotch-Irish descent Scientists from New York (state)