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Frederick Vernon Coville

Frederick Vernon Coville (March 23, 1867 – January 9, 1937) was an American botanist who participated in the Death Valley Expedition (1890-1891), was honorary curator of the United States National Herbarium (1893-1937), worked at then was Chief botanist of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), and was the first director of the United States National Arboretum. He made contribution to economic botany and helped shape American scientific policy of the time on plant and exploration research.

Frederick Vernon Coville
BornMarch 23, 1867
DiedJanuary 9, 1937 (1937-01-10) (aged 69)
Washington, D.C.
Alma materCornell University
Known for Botany of the Death Valley Expedition, Chief Botanist of USDA, Founder of the United States National Arboretum, work on blueberry
SpouseElizabeth Harwood Boyton
ChildrenFive
Parent(s)Joseph Addison and Lydia Coville
AwardsHonorary Sc.D. from The George Washington University, George Roberts White Medal
Scientific career
FieldsBotany, agronomy
InstitutionsUSDA
Author abbrev. (botany)Coville

Biography edit

Coville was born in 1867 in Preston, New York to bank director Joseph Addison Coville and his wife Lydia. He went to Cornell University, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in 1887. He briefly taught botany before joining the USDA and participating to the Geological Survey of Arkansas as assistant botanist in 1888. He would remain with the department until his death, succeeding to George Vasey as Chief botanist in 1893, a title accompanied with that of Honorary Curator of the National Herbarium (at the time conserved at the Smithsonian Institution, but funded by the USDA). Coville married his wife, Elizabeth Harwood Boyton, in 1890; they had five children, four of whom, three sons and a daughter, survived their father. Over the course of his life, he published approximately 170 papers and books; he also contributed to botany entries of the Century Dictionary. A tall man who had enjoyed success in college sports, he was described as helpful, perceptive, clear-thinking and curious, as well as greatly enthusiastic in his outdoor expeditions.

Coville participated in the 1891 Death Valley Expedition led by C. Hart Merriam and T. S. Palmer, his resulting Botany of the Death Valley Expedition (1893) is an important work on desert plants. He traveled a lot in the Western United States and grew an interest for desert and medicinal plants, leading to his 1897-1898 Medicinal Plants Survey. Gifford Pinchot called a report of Coville's on effects of grazing on forest "the essentials of a sound and farsighted grazing policy".[citation needed] Coville also participated in and wrote on the 1899 Harriman Alaska Expedition, although he never completed his Flora of Alaska. He was involved with the establishment of the Carnegie Institution's Desert Botanical Laboratory in 1903, the USDA Seed Laboratory, and spearheaded efforts that lead to the foundation of the United States National Arboretum in 1927.

 
Former Washington, D.C. residence of Frederick Vernon Coville

Coville was considered the American authority on Juncaceae and Grossulariaceae. After 1910 he began to work on blueberry, and was the first to discover the importance of soil acidity (blueberries need highly acidic soil), that blueberries do not self-pollinate, and the effects of cold on blueberries and other plants.[1] In 1911, he began a program of research in conjunction with Elizabeth White, daughter of the owner of the extensive cranberry bogs at Whitesbog in the New Jersey Pine Barrens. His work doubled the size of some strains' fruit, and by 1916, he had succeeded in cultivating blueberries, making them a valuable crop in the Northeastern United States.[2] For this work he received the George Roberts White Medal of Honor from the Massachusetts Horticultural Society. In 1919, Coville played an instrumental role in drawing attention to the threatened state of the only known box huckleberry colony,[3] sparking a revival of interest that led to the discovery of many new specimens of the plant. From 1920 to his death, he was chairman of the National Geographic Society' Research Committee and was very influential in deciding areas of exploration. At the time of his death he was working on a revision of Botany of the Death Valley Expedition as a flora of the Valley.

Coville's papers are split between several archives. Many (including his revision notes for Botany of the Death Valley Expedition) are kept at the Smithsonian Institution, Others at the National Arboretum. His personal library is now part of the University of Wyoming's special collections library, while his Death Valley Expedition field diary is kept at UC Berkeley. Amongst several plants named after him are Eriogonum covilleanum, Amelanchier covillei, Cheilanthes covillei, Sidalcea covillei, Enceliopsis covillei, Juncus covillei and Lupinus covillei. A genus Covillea was also named after him, but is now considered a synonym of Larrea.

Publications edit

  • Of Agriculture, United States. Dept; Herbarium, United States National; Museum, United States National (November 29, 1893). "Botany of the Death Valley Expedition. A Report on the Botany of the Expedition Sent Out in 1891 by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to Make a Biological Survey of the Region of Death Valley, California". Contributions from the U.S. National Herbarium. IV. Washington: Government Printing Office: 68.

Notes edit

  1. ^ Mirsky, Steve. "Early 20th Century Botanist Gave Us Domesticated Blueberries". Scientific American. Retrieved September 21, 2013.
  2. ^ . Whitesbog Preservation Trust. Archived from the original on May 15, 2008. Retrieved January 11, 2008.
  3. ^ Coville, Frederick V. (July 11, 1919). "The Threatened Extinction of the Box Huckleberry, Gaylussacia brachycera". Science. 50 (1280): 30–34. Bibcode:1919Sci....50...30C. doi:10.1126/science.50.1280.30. JSTOR 1641999. PMID 17801660.
  4. ^ International Plant Names Index.  Coville.

References edit

  • "Record Unit 7272: Frederick Vernon Coville Papers". Smithsonian Institution Archives. Smithsonian Institution. 2002. Retrieved December 31, 2007.
  • Glenn, Susan W. (1997). "Coville, Frederick Vernon". Biographical Dictionary of American and Canadian Naturalists and Environmentalists. Westport: Greenwood Press. pp. 177–178. ISBN 0-313-23047-1.
  • Susan J., Pennington (2004). "The Rebirth of the Contributions Series" (PDF). The Plant Press. 7 (4): 1. Retrieved December 31, 2007.
  • Charters, Michael L. "CI-CY". California Plant Names: Latin and Greek Meanings and Derivations. Retrieved December 31, 2007.
  • Maxon, William R. (March 1937). "Obituary: Frederick Vernon Coville". Science. 85 (2203): 280–282. doi:10.1126/science.85.2203.280.

External links edit

frederick, vernon, coville, march, 1867, january, 1937, american, botanist, participated, death, valley, expedition, 1890, 1891, honorary, curator, united, states, national, herbarium, 1893, 1937, worked, then, chief, botanist, united, states, department, agri. Frederick Vernon Coville March 23 1867 January 9 1937 was an American botanist who participated in the Death Valley Expedition 1890 1891 was honorary curator of the United States National Herbarium 1893 1937 worked at then was Chief botanist of the United States Department of Agriculture USDA and was the first director of the United States National Arboretum He made contribution to economic botany and helped shape American scientific policy of the time on plant and exploration research Frederick Vernon CovilleBornMarch 23 1867Preston New YorkDiedJanuary 9 1937 1937 01 10 aged 69 Washington D C Alma materCornell UniversityKnown forBotany of the Death Valley Expedition Chief Botanist of USDA Founder of the United States National Arboretum work on blueberrySpouseElizabeth Harwood BoytonChildrenFiveParent s Joseph Addison and Lydia CovilleAwardsHonorary Sc D from The George Washington University George Roberts White MedalScientific careerFieldsBotany agronomyInstitutionsUSDAAuthor abbrev botany Coville Contents 1 Biography 2 Publications 3 Notes 4 References 5 External linksBiography editCoville was born in 1867 in Preston New York to bank director Joseph Addison Coville and his wife Lydia He went to Cornell University where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in 1887 He briefly taught botany before joining the USDA and participating to the Geological Survey of Arkansas as assistant botanist in 1888 He would remain with the department until his death succeeding to George Vasey as Chief botanist in 1893 a title accompanied with that of Honorary Curator of the National Herbarium at the time conserved at the Smithsonian Institution but funded by the USDA Coville married his wife Elizabeth Harwood Boyton in 1890 they had five children four of whom three sons and a daughter survived their father Over the course of his life he published approximately 170 papers and books he also contributed to botany entries of the Century Dictionary A tall man who had enjoyed success in college sports he was described as helpful perceptive clear thinking and curious as well as greatly enthusiastic in his outdoor expeditions Coville participated in the 1891 Death Valley Expedition led by C Hart Merriam and T S Palmer his resulting Botany of the Death Valley Expedition 1893 is an important work on desert plants He traveled a lot in the Western United States and grew an interest for desert and medicinal plants leading to his 1897 1898 Medicinal Plants Survey Gifford Pinchot called a report of Coville s on effects of grazing on forest the essentials of a sound and farsighted grazing policy citation needed Coville also participated in and wrote on the 1899 Harriman Alaska Expedition although he never completed his Flora of Alaska He was involved with the establishment of the Carnegie Institution s Desert Botanical Laboratory in 1903 the USDA Seed Laboratory and spearheaded efforts that lead to the foundation of the United States National Arboretum in 1927 nbsp Former Washington D C residence of Frederick Vernon CovilleCoville was considered the American authority on Juncaceae and Grossulariaceae After 1910 he began to work on blueberry and was the first to discover the importance of soil acidity blueberries need highly acidic soil that blueberries do not self pollinate and the effects of cold on blueberries and other plants 1 In 1911 he began a program of research in conjunction with Elizabeth White daughter of the owner of the extensive cranberry bogs at Whitesbog in the New Jersey Pine Barrens His work doubled the size of some strains fruit and by 1916 he had succeeded in cultivating blueberries making them a valuable crop in the Northeastern United States 2 For this work he received the George Roberts White Medal of Honor from the Massachusetts Horticultural Society In 1919 Coville played an instrumental role in drawing attention to the threatened state of the only known box huckleberry colony 3 sparking a revival of interest that led to the discovery of many new specimens of the plant From 1920 to his death he was chairman of the National Geographic Society Research Committee and was very influential in deciding areas of exploration At the time of his death he was working on a revision of Botany of the Death Valley Expedition as a flora of the Valley Coville s papers are split between several archives Many including his revision notes for Botany of the Death Valley Expedition are kept at the Smithsonian Institution Others at the National Arboretum His personal library is now part of the University of Wyoming s special collections library while his Death Valley Expedition field diary is kept at UC Berkeley Amongst several plants named after him are Eriogonum covilleanum Amelanchier covillei Cheilanthes covillei Sidalcea covillei Enceliopsis covillei Juncus covillei and Lupinus covillei A genus Covillea was also named after him but is now considered a synonym of Larrea The standard author abbreviation Coville is used to indicate this person as the author when citing a botanical name 4 Publications editOf Agriculture United States Dept Herbarium United States National Museum United States National November 29 1893 Botany of the Death Valley Expedition A Report on the Botany of the Expedition Sent Out in 1891 by the U S Department of Agriculture to Make a Biological Survey of the Region of Death Valley California Contributions from the U S National Herbarium IV Washington Government Printing Office 68 Notes edit Mirsky Steve Early 20th Century Botanist Gave Us Domesticated Blueberries Scientific American Retrieved September 21 2013 History of White s Bog Whitesbog Preservation Trust Archived from the original on May 15 2008 Retrieved January 11 2008 Coville Frederick V July 11 1919 The Threatened Extinction of the Box Huckleberry Gaylussacia brachycera Science 50 1280 30 34 Bibcode 1919Sci 50 30C doi 10 1126 science 50 1280 30 JSTOR 1641999 PMID 17801660 International Plant Names Index Coville References edit Record Unit 7272 Frederick Vernon Coville Papers Smithsonian Institution Archives Smithsonian Institution 2002 Retrieved December 31 2007 Glenn Susan W 1997 Coville Frederick Vernon Biographical Dictionary of American and Canadian Naturalists and Environmentalists Westport Greenwood Press pp 177 178 ISBN 0 313 23047 1 Susan J Pennington 2004 The Rebirth of the Contributions Series PDF The Plant Press 7 4 1 Retrieved December 31 2007 Charters Michael L CI CY California Plant Names Latin and Greek Meanings and Derivations Retrieved December 31 2007 Maxon William R March 1937 Obituary Frederick Vernon Coville Science 85 2203 280 282 doi 10 1126 science 85 2203 280 External links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Frederick Vernon Coville Works by Frederick Vernon Coville at LibriVox public domain audiobooks nbsp Coville Frederick Vernon New International Encyclopedia 1905 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Frederick Vernon Coville amp oldid 1197574296, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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