Harold St. John
Encyclopedia
Harold St. John was a professor
of botany
at the University of Hawaii at Mānoa
from 1929 to 1958. A prolific specialist in field botany and systematics
, he is credited with discovering about 500 new species
of Pandanus
, along with many other species, especially in the Pacific Islands
.
Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
, he was educated at Harvard University
, where he earned a Ph.D.
in 1917. After service in Europe
during World War I
, he taught botany at the State College of Washington (now Washington State University
) (1920–1929), where also became the curator of its herbarium
. In 1929, he joined the faculty of the University of Hawaii, where he served as longtime chair of the botany department (1929–1940, 1943–1954), then as director of the university's Lyon Arboretum
. The St. John Plant Science Laboratory building on the Mānoa campus, which houses the botany department, is named after him.
Not long after his arrival in Hawaii, he joined the Bernice P. Bishop Museum's Mangarevan Expedition
of 1934, which returned with perhaps the richest collection of Polynesian plants ever made. During World War II
he took a leave of absence to lead a scientific team to the rainforests of Colombia
in search of Cinchona
trees in order to provide additional sources of the malaria
drug quinine
, which was in short supply. His team reported a harvest of 60,000 tons of bark. After the war he investigated the effects of radiation
on vegetation in the Marshall Islands
for the United States Atomic Energy Commission
.
He continued traveling and publishing long into retirement. He held professorships at Chatham College
in his native Pittsburgh (1958–1959), at the Université de Saigon and Université de Hue
in Vietnam
(1959–1961), and at Cairo University
(1963). He was also a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science
and of the Linnean Society of London
.
Professor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
of botany
Botany
Botany, plant science, or plant biology is a branch of biology that involves the scientific study of plant life. Traditionally, botany also included the study of fungi, algae and viruses...
at the University of Hawaii at Mānoa
University of Hawaii at Manoa
The University of Hawaii at Mānoa is a public, co-educational university and is the flagship campus of the greater University of Hawaii system...
from 1929 to 1958. A prolific specialist in field botany and systematics
Systematics
Biological systematics is the study of the diversification of terrestrial life, both past and present, and the relationships among living things through time. Relationships are visualized as evolutionary trees...
, he is credited with discovering about 500 new species
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
of Pandanus
Pandanus
Pandanus is a genus of monocots with about 600 known species. They are numerous palmlike dioecious trees and shrubs native of the Old World tropics and subtropics. They are classified in the order Pandanales, family Pandanaceae.-Overview:...
, along with many other species, especially in the Pacific Islands
Pacific Islands
The Pacific Islands comprise 20,000 to 30,000 islands in the Pacific Ocean. The islands are also sometimes collectively called Oceania, although Oceania is sometimes defined as also including Australasia and the Malay Archipelago....
.
Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
, he was educated at Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
, where he earned a Ph.D.
Doctor of Philosophy
Doctor of Philosophy, abbreviated as Ph.D., PhD, D.Phil., or DPhil , in English-speaking countries, is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities...
in 1917. After service in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, he taught botany at the State College of Washington (now Washington State University
Washington State University
Washington State University is a public research university based in Pullman, Washington, in the Palouse region of the Pacific Northwest. Founded in 1890, WSU is the state's original and largest land-grant university...
) (1920–1929), where also became the curator of its herbarium
Herbarium
In botany, a herbarium – sometimes known by the Anglicized term herbar – is a collection of preserved plant specimens. These specimens may be whole plants or plant parts: these will usually be in a dried form, mounted on a sheet, but depending upon the material may also be kept in...
. In 1929, he joined the faculty of the University of Hawaii, where he served as longtime chair of the botany department (1929–1940, 1943–1954), then as director of the university's Lyon Arboretum
Lyon Arboretum
The Harold L. Lyon Arboretum is a arboretum and botanical garden managed by the University of Hawaii at Mānoa located at the upper end of Mānoa Valley in Hawaii....
. The St. John Plant Science Laboratory building on the Mānoa campus, which houses the botany department, is named after him.
Not long after his arrival in Hawaii, he joined the Bernice P. Bishop Museum's Mangarevan Expedition
Mangarevan Expedition
The Mangarevan Expedition of 1934 was a scientific expedition to investigate the natural history of the farthest southeastern islands of Polynesia, including Mangareva. It was a comprehensive natural history expedition of a kind more common during the previous century. Sponsored by the Bernice P...
of 1934, which returned with perhaps the richest collection of Polynesian plants ever made. During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
he took a leave of absence to lead a scientific team to the rainforests of Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
in search of Cinchona
Cinchona
Cinchona or Quina is a genus of about 38 species in the family Rubiaceae, native to tropical South America. They are large shrubs or small trees growing 5–15 metres in height with evergreen foliage. The leaves are opposite, rounded to lanceolate and 10–40 cm long. The flowers are white, pink...
trees in order to provide additional sources of the malaria
Malaria
Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease of humans and other animals caused by eukaryotic protists of the genus Plasmodium. The disease results from the multiplication of Plasmodium parasites within red blood cells, causing symptoms that typically include fever and headache, in severe cases...
drug quinine
Quinine
Quinine is a natural white crystalline alkaloid having antipyretic , antimalarial, analgesic , anti-inflammatory properties and a bitter taste. It is a stereoisomer of quinidine which, unlike quinine, is an anti-arrhythmic...
, which was in short supply. His team reported a harvest of 60,000 tons of bark. After the war he investigated the effects of radiation
Ionizing radiation
Ionizing radiation is radiation composed of particles that individually have sufficient energy to remove an electron from an atom or molecule. This ionization produces free radicals, which are atoms or molecules containing unpaired electrons...
on vegetation in the Marshall Islands
Marshall Islands
The Republic of the Marshall Islands , , is a Micronesian nation of atolls and islands in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, just west of the International Date Line and just north of the Equator. As of July 2011 the population was 67,182...
for the United States Atomic Energy Commission
United States Atomic Energy Commission
The United States Atomic Energy Commission was an agency of the United States government established after World War II by Congress to foster and control the peace time development of atomic science and technology. President Harry S...
.
He continued traveling and publishing long into retirement. He held professorships at Chatham College
Chatham College
Chatham University is an American university with a women's undergraduate college and coeducational graduate programs through the doctoral level, located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania's Shadyside neighborhood. The campus population of approximately 2,300 includes undergraduate women and graduate...
in his native Pittsburgh (1958–1959), at the Université de Saigon and Université de Hue
Hue University
Huế University is a university located in Huế, the former imperial capital of Vietnam; this university is one of the important regional universities of Vietnam...
in Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
(1959–1961), and at Cairo University
Cairo University
Cairo University is a public university located in Giza, Egypt.The university was founded on December 21, 1908, as the result of an effort to establish a national center for educational thought...
(1963). He was also a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science
American Association for the Advancement of Science
The American Association for the Advancement of Science is an international non-profit organization with the stated goals of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific responsibility, and supporting scientific education and science outreach for the...
and of the Linnean Society of London
Linnean Society of London
The Linnean Society of London is the world's premier society for the study and dissemination of taxonomy and natural history. It publishes a zoological journal, as well as botanical and biological journals...
.
Selected works
- 1915. Elymus arenarius and its American representatives. Rhodora 17: 98-103.
- 1916. A revision of the North American species of Potamogeton of the section Coleophylli. Rhodora 18: 121-138.
- 1922. A botanical exploration of the north shore of the Gulf of St. Lawrence including an annotated list of the species of vascular plants. Mem. Victoria Memorial Mus., Can. Dept. Mines 126(Biol. Ser. 4): i-iii, 1-30, 6 pl., 2 maps.
- 1928. A revision of the loco-weeds of Washington. Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash. 41: 97-106.
- 1931. Additions to the flora of Niihau. B. P. Bishop Mus. Occ. Pap. 9(14): 1-11, 3 pl.
- 1933. The sausage tree. Paradise Pac. 46: 5-6, 3 pl.
- 1935. Hawaiian Panicum, Metrosideros, Sanicula, Lobelia and Rollandia. B. P. Bishop Mus., Occ. Pap. 11(13): 1-18, 6 figs., 3 pl.
- 1941. Revision of the genus Swertia (Gentianaceae) of the Americas and the reduction of Frasera. Amer. Midl. Nat. 26: 1-29.
- 1946. Endemism in the Hawaiian flora, and a revision of the Hawaiian species of Gunnera (Haloragidaceae). Hawaiian Plant Stud. 11. Calif. Acad. Sci., Proc. IV 25: 377-420, pl. 37-46.
- 1948. Report on the flora of Pingelap Atoll, Caroline Islands, Micronesia, and observations on the vocabulary of the native inhabitants. Pac. Plant Stud. 7. Pac. Sci. 2(2): 96-113, 9 figs.
- 1951. Plant records from Aur Atoll and Majuro Atoll, Marshall Islands, Micronesia. Pac. Plant Stud. 9. Pac. Sci. 5(3): 279-286, fig. 1.
- 1952. Monograph of the genus Isodendrion (Violaceae). Hawaiian Plant Stud. 21. Pac. Sci. 6(3): 213-255, figs. 1-15.
- 1954. Ferns of Rotuma Island, a descriptive manual. B. P. Bishop Mus., ace. Pap. 21(9): 161-208, figs. 1-11.
- 1955. Biography of Wilhelm Nikolaus Suksdorf (1850–1932), pioneer botanist of the state of Washington. Res. Stud., State College Wash. 23(4): 225-278, 13 pl.
- 1958. Nomenclature of plants. A text for the application by the case method of the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature. Ronald Press, New York. i-vii, 157 pp.
- 1959. Botanical novelties on the Island of Niihau, Hawaiian Islands. Hawaiian Plant Stud. 25. Pac. Sci. 13(2): 156-190, 11 figs.
- 1962. Monograph of the genus Elodea (Hydrocharitaceae). Part 1. The species found in the Great Plains, the Rocky Mountains, and the Pacific states and provinces of North America. Res. Stud., Wash. State Univ. 30(2): 19-44, 5 figs.
- 1963. Monograph of the genus Elodea (Hydrocharitaceae). Part 3. The species found in northern and eastern South America. Darwiniana 12(4): 639-652, figs. 1-3, tab. 1.
- 1964. Instructions for collecting Pandanus. Flora Malesiana Bull. 19: 1133-1134.
- 1969. Monograph of the genus Brighamia (Lobeliaceae). Hawaiian Plant Stud. 29. Linn. Soc., London, Bot. J. 61: 187-204, 18 pp., 7 figs., 2 pl.
- 1970. The career of Harold L. Lyon, founder of the Lyon Arboretum. Univ. of Hawaii, Harold L. Lyon Arboretum Lecture No. I: ii-iv, portrait.
- 1971. The vascular plants of the Horne and Wallis Islands. Pac. Sci. 25(3): 313-348, figs. 1-2.
- 1973. List and summary of the flowering plants in the Hawaiian Islands. Pac. Trop. Bot. Gard., Mem. 1: 1-519.
- 1974. The vascular flora of Fanning Island, Line Islands, Pacific Ocean. Pac. Sci. 28(3): 339-355, figs. 1-7.
- 1977. Revision of the genus Pandanus Stickman. Part 40. The Fijian species of the section Pandanus. Pac. Sci. 30(3): 249-315, figs. 364-394.
- 1980 Two new species of Pandanus (Pandanaceae) from Rennell Island. Noona Dan Papers no. 137. Nat. Hist. Rennell Is., British Solomon Islands 8: 7-13, figs. 1-3.