Alvan Wentworth Chapman (September 28, 1809 – April 6, 1899) was an American physician and pioneering botanist in the study of flora of the American Southeast.Makers of American Botany,

Harry Baker Humphrey Harry Baker Humphrey (1873–1955) was an American botanist.Makers of American Botany, Harry Baker Humphrey, Ronald Press Company, Library of Congress Card Number 61-18435 He was a pathologist with the USDA, specializing on research on breeding resi ...

, Ronald Press Company, Library of Congress Card Number 61-18435 He wrote ''

Flora of the Southern United States ''Flora of the Southern United States'' was the first comprehensive treatment of flora of the southeastern United States. It was written by Alvan Wentworth Chapman and published in 1860.Makers of American Botany, Harry Baker Humphrey, Ronald Press ...

'', the first comprehensive description of US plants in any region beyond the northeastern states.

Education

He was born in Southampton, Massachusetts, the youngest of five children. In 1830, he graduated from

Amherst College Amherst College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Amherst, Massachusetts. Founded in 1821 as an attempt to relocate Williams College by its then-president Zephaniah Swift Moore, Amherst is the third oldest institution of higher educati ...

with a degree in classics. He moved to Georgia and then Florida where he held various teaching positions, and married Mary Ann Hancock in 1839. In the early 1840s, he received a medical education, acquiring his MD in 1846. In 1847, he settled in Apalachicola, Florida, remaining there for the rest of his life working as a physician and botanist, collaborating with Asa Gray.

Botanical works

His botanical interest seems to have started when he lived in Georgia, adjacent to the botanically unexplored regions of northern Florida. Working in near isolation, in his spare time, he had a manuscript by 1859, and visited

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 highe ...

for five months, consulting with Asa Gray and arranging for publication of his ''

'', which occurred in 1860. Chapman brought out a second edition in 1884, and a third edition in 1897.

Memorials

*He is memorialized in the genus '' Chapmannia'' and a multitude of species names. * Chapman High School and Chapman Elementary School in Apalachicola were named in his honor.
Chapman Botanical Gardens
A beautiful place for reflection and admiring nature, the gardens honor Dr. Chapman.
Chapman House Museum
(the fully restored, Greek Revival-style home built in the 1840s by Dr. Alvin Wentworth Chapman in Apalachicola, FL)

Notes

References

*Duane Isely, ''One hundred and one botanists'' (Iowa State University Press, 1994), pp. 181–183 *Raymond B. Becker. ''John Gorrie, M.D.: Father of Air Conditioning and Mechanical Refrigeration''. Carlton Press, 1972. (Contains biographical information about Chapman). *Chapman, A.W. ''Flora of the Southern United States''. Ivison, Phinney and Co., New York. 1860. (Available o
Google Books
.

External links

* * 1809 births 1899 deaths American botanists Amherst College alumni People from Southampton, Massachusetts Physicians from Florida People from Apalachicola, Florida {{US-botanist-stub