Nathaniel Lord Britton (January 15, 1859 – June 25, 1934) 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

taxonomist In biology, taxonomy () is the scientific study of naming, defining ( circumscribing) and classifying groups of biological organisms based on shared characteristics. Organisms are grouped into taxa (singular: taxon) and these groups are given ...

who co-founded 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, ...

in the

Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

Early life

Britton was born in

New Dorp New Dorp is a neighborhood on the East Shore of Staten Island, New York City, United States. New Dorp is bounded by Mill Road on the southeast, Tysens Lane on the southwest, Amboy and Richmond Roads on the northwest, and Bancroft Avenue on the no ...

Staten Island, New York Staten Island ( ) is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located in the city's southwest portion, the borough is separated from New Jersey b ...

to Jasper Alexander Hamilton Britton and Harriet Lord Turner. His parents wanted him to study religion, but he was attracted to

nature study The nature study movement (alternatively, Nature Study or nature-study) was a popular education movement that originated in the United States and spread throughout the English-speaking world in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Nature study ...

at an early age. He was a graduate of the Columbia University School of Mines and afterwards taught

geology Geology () is a branch of natural science concerned with Earth and other astronomical objects, the features or rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Ear ...

and

botany 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 w ...

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 ...

. He joined the

Torrey Botanical Club Torrey Botanical Society (formerly Torrey Botanical Club) was started in the 1860s by colleagues of John Torrey. It is the oldest botanical society in the Americas. The Society promotes the exploration and study of plant life, with particular ...

soon after graduation and was a member his entire life. He married Elizabeth Gertrude Knight, a bryologist, on August 27, 1885. They had met when she joined the club and were lifelong collaborators in botanical research.

New York Botanical Garden

During their honeymoon in 1888, they visited

Kew Gardens Kew Gardens is a botanical garden, botanic garden in southwest London that houses the "largest and most diverse botany, botanical and mycology, mycological collections in the world". Founded in 1840, from the exotic garden at Kew Park, its li ...

, which led to his wife proposing a botanical garden for New York at a Torrey Club meeting. Together, they campaigned to bring about the NYBG. Britton left Columbia in 1895 to become the first director of the New York Botanical Garden, a position he held until 1929. He was on the first Board of Managers for the institution, along with

Andrew Carnegie Andrew Carnegie (, ; November 25, 1835August 11, 1919) was a Scottish-American industrialist and philanthropist. Carnegie led the expansion of the American steel industry in the late 19th century and became one of the richest Americans i ...

J. Pierpont Morgan John Pierpont Morgan Sr. (April 17, 1837 – March 31, 1913) was an American financier and investment banker who dominated corporate finance on Wall Street throughout the Gilded Age. As the head of the banking firm that ultimately became known ...

, and

Cornelius Vanderbilt II Cornelius "Corneil" Vanderbilt II (November 27, 1843 – September 12, 1899) was an American socialite and a member of the prominent United States Vanderbilt family. Noted forebears He was the favorite grandson of Commodore Cornelius Vanderbil ...

. He engendered substantial financial support for the botanical garden by naming plants after wealthy contributors.

Scientific research

Much of his field work was done in the

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...

, where he visited frequently when the winter weather in New York City became too severe. His contributions to the study of Caribbean flora are undisputed. He wrote ''Illustrated Flora of the Northern United States, Canada, and the British Possessions'' (1896) with

Addison Brown Addison C. Brown (February 21, 1830 – April 9, 1913) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, a botanist, and a serious amateur astronomer. Early life, education and career A ...

, and ''

The Cactaceae ''The Cactaceae'' is a monograph on plants of the cactus family written by the American botanists Nathaniel Lord Britton and Joseph Nelson Rose and published in multiple volumes between 1919 and 1923. It was landmark study that extensively reorg ...

'' with

Joseph Nelson Rose Joseph Nelson Rose (January 11, 1862 – May 4, 1928) was an American botanist. He was born in Union County, Indiana. His father died serving during the Civil War when Joseph Rose was a young boy. He later graduated from high school in Liberty, ...

. Britton is also remembered as one of the signatories of the American Code of

Botanical Nomenclature Botanical nomenclature is the formal, scientific naming of plants. It is related to, but distinct from Alpha taxonomy, taxonomy. Plant taxonomy is concerned with grouping and classifying plants; botanical nomenclature then provides names for the ...

that proposed such radical changes to the rules governing nomenclature that a compromise was not reached (and some of the principal American provisions adopted) until nearly 30 years later.

Death and legacy

He died at his home in the Bronx, after suffering a stroke 9 weeks earlier. The house he lived and worked in, the Britton Cottage, is preserved at

Historic Richmond Town Historic Richmond Town is an authentic town and farm museum complex in the neighborhood of Richmondtown, Staten Island, in New York City. It is located near the geographical center of the island, at the junction of Richmond Road and Arthur Kill ...

on Staten Island. The genera ''

Brittonastrum ''Agastache'' () is a genus of aromatic flowering herbaceous perennial plants in the family Lamiaceae. It contains 22 species, mainly native to North America, one species native to eastern Asia. The common names of the species are a variety of f ...

'' (now a synonym of ''

Agastache ''Agastache'' () is a genus of aromatic flowering herbaceous perennial plants in the family Lamiaceae. It contains 22 species, mainly native to North America, one species native to eastern Asia. The common names of the species are a variety of f ...

'' Clayton ex Gronov.), '' Brittonella'' (a synonym of '' Mionandra'' Griseb.), ''Brittonamra'' (which is now a synonym of ''

Coursetia ''Coursetia'' is a large genus of flowering plants in the pea family, Fabaceae. Members of the genus, commonly known as babybonnets, are shrubs and small trees native to the Southwestern United States, Mexico, the Caribbean, Central America, and ...

'' DC.), ''

Brittonia ''Brittonia'' is a quarterly, peer-reviewed botanical journal, publishing articles on plants, fungi, algae, and lichens. Published since 1931, it is named after the botanist Nathaniel Lord Britton. Since 2007, the journal has been published by Spr ...

'' (synonym of ''

Ferocactus ''Ferocactus'' is a genus of large barrel-shaped cacti, mostly with large spines and small flowers. There are about 30 species included in the genus. They are found in the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico. Description The y ...

'' Britton & Rose), and '' Brittonrosea'' (a synonym of ''

Echinocactus ''Echinocactus'' is a genus of cacti in the subfamily Cactoideae. The generic name derives from the Ancient Greek εχινος (''echinos''), meaning "spiny," and ''cactus''. It and ''Ferocactus'' are the two genera of barrel cactus. Members of ...

'' Link & Otto) and also '' Neobrittonia''. As well as the botanical journal ''

'' are all named after him.

Works

John Hendley Barnhart John Hendley Barnhart (October 4, 1871 – November 11, 1949) was an American botanist and author, specializing in biographies of botanists.Gleaston, H. A. John Hendley Barnhart—An appreciation. '' Journal of the New York Botanical Garden'' Augu ...

contributed a bibliography of all of Britton's works to ''Biographical memoir of Nathaniel Lord Britton, 1859-1934'' authored by

Elmer Drew Merrill Elmer Drew Merrill (October 15, 1876 – February 25, 1956) was an American botanist and taxonomist. He spent more than twenty years in the Philippines where he became a recognized authority on the flora of the Asia-Pacific region. Through t ...

and presented to the

National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the Nati ...

at the annual meeting, 1938. In 1960, Henry A. Gleason published ''The scientific work of Nathanial Lord Britton'', where he summarized and provided commentary on Britton's early botanical activities, botanical organizations, his nomenclatural work, the ''Illustrated Flora'', his leadership of the

, his ''West Indian Flora'', his ''North America Flora'', his ''Flora of Northern South America'', his ''North American Trees'', and his monographic work. * * * * *
A preliminary catalogue of the flora of New Jersey
(1881) Et al.
An illustrated flora of the northern United States, Canada and the British possessions from Newfoundland to the parallel of the southern boundary of Virginia, and from the Atlantic ocean westward to the 102d meridian
3 volumes. (1896–98) With Addison Brown.
Contributions to the botany of the Yukon Territory
(1901) Et al.
Manual of the flora of the northern states and Canada
(1901)
The sedges of Jamaica
(1907)
Studies in West Indian plants
(1908–26)
Rhipsalis in the West Indies
(1909)
An illustrated flora of the northern United States, Canada and the British possessions
(Vol. 1–3, 1913) With Addison Brown.
The vegetation of Mona Island
(1915)
Flora of Bermuda
(1918)
The flora of the American Virgin Islands
(1918)
Descriptions of Cuban plants new to science
(1920)
The Bahama flora
(1920) With Charles Frederick Millspaugh.
Neoabbottia, a new cactus genus from Hispaniola
(1921)
The Cactaceae
(1919 - 1923) online

References

External links

*
National Academy of Sciences Biographical Memoir
{{DEFAULTSORT:Britton, Nathaniel Lord 1859 births 1934 deaths American mycologists Bryologists Pteridologists Botanists active in the Caribbean Botanical Society of America New York Botanical Garden Torrey Botanical Society members Columbia University faculty Columbia School of Engineering and Applied Science alumni Columbia University alumni People from New Dorp, Staten Island 19th-century American botanists 20th-century American botanists Scientists from New York (state) Scientists from New York City Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences