William Ralph Maxon, (February 27, 1877February 25, 1948) 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 ...

and

pteridologist #REDIRECTFern A fern (Polypodiopsida or Polypodiophyta ) is a member of a group of vascular plants (plants with xylem and phloem) that reproduce via spores and have neither seeds nor flowers. The polypodiophytes include all living pter ...

. He graduated from

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York. Established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church, the university has been nonsectarian since 1920. Locate ...

with a B.Ph. in biology, in 1898, and spent about one year at

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

doing post-graduate work on ferns with

Lucien Marcus Underwood Lucien Marcus Underwood (October 26, 1853 – November 16, 1907) was an American botanist and mycologist of the 19th and early 20th centuries. Early life and career He was born in New Woodstock, New York. He enrolled at Syracuse University in 1 ...

. In 1899 he accepted a position with the

United States National Museum The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...

, which was a part of the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...

; he remained at the museum for his entire career. In 1899 he became an aide with the Division of Plants. He was named assistant curator in 1905, associate curator in 1914, and curator of that Division in 1937. He retired in 1946, but continued his association with the museum until his death in 1948. For the current version of this webpage, see . The later version does not indicate authorship. Alan Bain has written that, "Maxon specialized in the taxonomic study of Pteridophyta, especially those of tropical America, and was considered to be one of the leading systematic pteridologists of his time. He built up the fern collection in the United States National Herbarium from one of relative insignificance to one of the finest in quantity and quality in the western hemisphere." Between 1903 and 1926 he undertook nine major expeditions to tropical America and worked in European herbaria in 1928 and 1930. He served repeatedly as president of the

American Fern Society The American Fern Society was founded in 1893. Today, it has more than 1,000 members around the world, with various local chapters. Among its deceased members, perhaps the most famous is Oliver Sacks, who became a member in 1993. Willard N. Clut ...

, and was editor-in-chief of its Journal from 1933 until his death. He was awarded an honorary doctor of science degree from Syracuse University in 1922, and was elected to Fellowship in the

American Association for the Advancement of Science The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is an American international non-profit organization with the stated goals of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific respons ...

and the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and ...

. In 1916, botanist

Carl Frederik Albert Christensen Carl Frederik Albert Christensen (16 January 1872 – 24 November 1942) was a Danish systematic botanist. He graduated in natural history from the University of Copenhagen under professor Eugenius Warming. He was then a school teacher in Copenhag ...

published '' Maxonia'' which is a

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 ...

fern A fern (Polypodiopsida or Polypodiophyta ) is a member of a group of vascular plants (plants with xylem and phloem) that reproduce via spores and have neither seeds nor flowers. The polypodiophytes include all living pteridophytes except t ...

s in the fern family

Dryopteridaceae The Dryopteridaceae are a Family (biology), family of leptosporangiate ferns in the Order (biology), order Polypodiales. They are known Common name, colloquially as the wood ferns. In the Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group classification of 2016 (PPG&n ...

, and was named in Maxon's honour Maxon received an honorary doctor of science degree from Syracuse University in 1922. Maxon was born on February 27, 1877, in Oneida, New York, and died on February 25, 1948, in Terra Ceia, Florida.

Publications

Extensive bibliography on WorldCat

Publications

References

Further reading