Nathaniel Lord Britton
Encyclopedia
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
botanist and taxonomist who founded the New York Botanical Garden
New York Botanical Garden
- See also :* Education in New York City* List of botanical gardens in the United States* List of museums and cultural institutions in New York City- External links :* official website** blog*...
in the Bronx, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. Britton was born in New Dorp in Staten Island, New York. His parents wanted him to study religion, but he was attracted to nature study
Nature study
The nature study movement was a popular education movement in America in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Nature study attempted to reconcile scientific investigation with spiritual, personal experiences gained from interaction with the natural world...
at an early age.
He was a graduate of the Columbia University School of Mines and afterwards taught geology
Geology
Geology is the science comprising the study of solid Earth, the rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which it evolves. Geology gives insight into the history of the Earth, as it provides the primary evidence for plate tectonics, the evolutionary history of life, and past climates...
and 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 Columbia. Britton was the first director of the New York Botanical Garden. He engendered substantial financial support for the botanical garden by naming plants after wealthy contributors.
He married Elizabeth Gertrude Knight, a bryologist
Bryophyte
Bryophyte is a traditional name used to refer to all embryophytes that do not have true vascular tissue and are therefore called 'non-vascular plants'. Some bryophytes do have specialized tissues for the transport of water; however since these do not contain lignin, they are not considered to be...
and fellow member of the Torrey Botanical Club
Torrey Botanical Society
Torrey Botanical Society was started in the 1860s by colleagues of John Torrey. It is the oldest botanical society in the Americas...
. They were lifelong collaborators in botanical research.
Much of his field work was done in the Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
, where he visited frequently when the winter weather in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
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 Brown
Addison Brown was a United States federal judge.Brown was born in West Newbury, Massachusetts, and was educated at Amherst College. He received an A.B. from Harvard University in 1852, and an LL.B. from Harvard Law School in 1854...
, and The Cactaceae with Joseph Nelson Rose
Joseph Nelson Rose
Joseph Nelson Rose 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, Indiana....
.
The house he lived and worked in, The Britton Cottage
The Britton Cottage
The Britton Cottage was the residence of Nathaniel Lord Britton, a botanist and the creator of the New York Botanical Garden. The house was originally located at the intersection of New Dorp Lane and Cedar Grove Avenue in the New Dorp Beach section of Staten Island, New York. The oldest section of...
, is preserved at Historic Richmond Town
Historic Richmond Town
Historic Richmond Town is a living history village and museum complex in the neighborhood of Richmond, 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 Road....
on Staten Island, New York.
Britton retired as director of the New York Botanical Garden in 1929, but continued his research of Caribbean flora.
External links
Additional Britton works online
- 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)