William Darlington (April 28, 1782 – April 23, 1863) was an American

physician A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

, botanist, and politician who served as a

Democratic-Republican The Democratic-Republican Party, known at the time as the Republican Party and also referred to as the Jeffersonian Republican Party among other names, was an American political party founded by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison in the early ...

member of the U.S. House of Representatives for

Pennsylvania's 2nd congressional district Pennsylvania's second congressional district includes all of Northeast Philadelphia and parts of North Philadelphia east of Broad Street, as well as portions of Philadelphia's River Wards. It has been represented by Democrat Brendan Boyle since 2 ...

from 1819 to 1823.Makers of American Botany, Harry Baker Humphrey, Ronald Press Company, Library of Congress Card Number 61-18435

Early life and education

William Darlington (cousin of Edward Darlington and Isaac Darlington, second cousin of Smedley Darlington) was born in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1. ...

Chester County, Pennsylvania Chester County (Pennsylvania Dutch: ''Tscheschter Kaundi''), colloquially known as Chesco, is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is located in the Delaware Valley region of the state. As of the 2020 census, the population was 53 ...

. He attended the Friends School at Birmingham and spent his youth on a farm. He became a botanist at an early age, studied medicine, and graduated from the medical department of the University of Pennsylvania in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

in 1804. He went to the

East Indies The East Indies (or simply the Indies), is a term used in historical narratives of the Age of Discovery. The Indies refers to various lands in the East or the Eastern hemisphere, particularly the islands and mainlands found in and around ...

as ship's surgeon in 1806. He returned to West Chester, near Birmingham, in 1807 and was a practicing physician there for a number of years. He raised a company of volunteers at the beginning of the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States, United States of America and its Indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom ...

and served as major of a volunteer regiment.

Political and later career

Darlington was elected as a

to the Fourteenth Congress. He was again elected to the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Congresses. He was appointed canal commissioner in 1825, and served as the first president of the

West Chester Railroad The West Chester Railroad is a privately owned and operated tourist railroad that runs between Market Street in West Chester, Pennsylvania, in Chester County, and the village of Glen Mills, Pennsylvania, in Delaware County. It operates on of ...

from 1831 to 1835. In 1823, Darlington was elected to the

American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS), founded in 1743 in Philadelphia, is a scholarly organization that promotes knowledge in the sciences and humanities through research, professional meetings, publications, library resources, and communit ...

. He established a natural history society in West Chester in 1826 and published several works on botany and natural history. His published works include ''Mutual Influence of Habits and Disease'' (1804), ''Flora cestrica: an attempt to enumerate and describe the flowering and filicoid plants of Chester County in the state of Pennsylvania'' (1837) and ''Agricultural Botany'' (1847). The degree of L.L.D. was conferred on him by Yale University in 1848, and he was awarded a Doctor of Physical Science in 1855 by Dickinson College. The California pitcher plant, '' Darlingtonia californica'', was described by John Torrey in 1853 and named in his honor. The

Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University The Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University, formerly the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, is the oldest natural science research institution and museum in the Americas. It was founded in 1812, by many of the leading natura ...

preserves some botanical specimens that he collected — for example, of ''Talinum teretifolium'' (''Phemeranthus teretifolius'' — the quil
fameflower
. He served as director and president of the National Bank of Chester County from 1830 to 1863, where his friend and fellow botanist David Townsend was chief cashier. He died in West Chester in 1863, and was interred in

Oaklands Cemetery Oaklands Cemetery is a rural cemetery founded in 1854 in West Goshen Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania. It is located at 1042 Pottstown Pike and is approximately in size. Description and history The Oaklands Cemetery was founded in respo ...

References

Sources

daguerreotype
* Lansing, Dorothy I. ''That Magnificent Cestrian: Dr. William Darlington, 1782-1863, Being a Short Introductory Biography.''

Paoli, Pennsylvania Paoli ( ) is a census-designated place (CDP) in Chester County near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. It is situated in portions of two townships: Tredyffrin and Willistown. At the 2010 census, it had a total population of 5,575. His ...

: Serpentine Press, 1985. * Author:William Darlington wikisource

External links

The William Darlington papers, 1800-1863 at the New York Historical Society

Historical Marker Database
{{DEFAULTSORT:Darlington, William 1782 births 1863 deaths People from Birmingham Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania American militiamen in the War of 1812 American bankers 19th-century American botanists Burials at Oaklands Cemetery People disowned by the Quakers Democratic-Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania alumni People from West Chester, Pennsylvania 19th-century American politicians American militia officers 19th-century American businesspeople Military personnel from Pennsylvania American bank presidents