George Vasey (February 28, 1822 – March 3, 1893) was an English-born American botanist who collected a lot in Illinois before integrating the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), where he became Chief Botanist and curator of the greatly expanded National Herbarium.
George Vasey was born in 1822 near Scarborough, England, the fourth of ten children. His family emigrated to the United States the next year, and they established in Oriskany, New York. He left school at 12 to take a job as a store clerk.
He took interest in botany after borrowing and, since he could not afford the volume, manually copying a book on the subject. This interest was later encouraged after a chance encounter with Peter D. Knieskern, another naturalist who allowed Vasey to begin writing to various other botanists. Until 1870 he would maintain an extensive correspondence and collect a great many specimens both in Oneida County and later McHenry County, but did not publish material of scientific relevance until the 1870s.
Vasey married Martha Jane Scott in 1846, having graduated the same year from Berkshire Medical Institute with a M.D. degree, and shortly after they moved to establish themselves in Ringwood, Illinois. In 1854 he opened a dry good store to support his family of 7: four children and his mother. In 1858 he was a founding member of the Illinois Natural History Society, and over the next few years, began writing prolifically for the society and the Prairie Farmer. He had two more children by 1861, but in 1864 he lost his youngest to whooping cough. When his wife began to grow weaker, Vasey relocated the family to Richview, to no avail. Martha Vasey died in 1866.
After a brief period where he stopped writing, he remarried to a widow, but was beset with heavy financial trouble by the time John Wesley Powell invited him to participate in an expedition in 1868. Greatly enthused by the adventure, he dedicated himself to scientific pursuit. He briefly edited Entomologist and Botanist before being curator of the Illinois State University Natural History Museum. He resigned the latter position to succeed Charles Christopher Parry as the USDA Chief Botanist. He quickly began work to improve the poor state of the National Herbarium, then organized an exhibit of the country's trees for the Centennial Exposition. The herbarium, hosted by the Smithsonian Institution, is considered the crowning of his career, particularly its grass collection, of which he was a specialist; in 1889 the Institute named him Honorary Curator. As Chief Botanist he launched the Contributions from the United States National Herbarium. With George Thurber he worked on grasses for Asa Gray and John Torrey's Flora of North America.
He was granted an honorary M.A. in 1864 from Illinois Wesleyan University. In 1869 he was made a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and in 1892, of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences; that same year he was representative to the 1892 International Botanical Congress in Genoa, where he was a vice-president. Of his published work his several-volumes monograph of the United States grass, the last part of which was published after his death, is one of the most notable, as are his 1884 Agricultural Grasses of the United States and his work to describe unpublished species who had accumulated in the herbarium, a work he completed less than a week before his death in 1893, from peritonitis. Three genera (Vaseya, now part of Muhlenbergia, Vaseyochloa, and Vaseyanthus), as well as numerous species were named after him, although it is not always clear whether they are named after himself or his son, George Richard Vasey, who collected widely after his father entered the USDA, and after which Rhododendron vaseyi is most likely named.
Worksedit
Delineations of the Ox Tribe; or, the Natural History of Bulls, Bisons, and Buffaloes (London: G. Biggs, 1851)
A Descriptive Catalogue of the Native Forest Trees of the United States (Washington, 1876)
The Grasses of the United States, a Synopsis of the Tribes, with Descriptions of the Genera (1883)
Agricultural Grasses of the United States (1884)
A Descriptive Catalogue of the Grasses of the United States (1885)
Report of an Investigation of the Grasses of the Arid Districts (2 parts, 1886–87)
Collins, Ed (Winter 2001). "Searching for Doctor Vasey". Chicago Wilderness Magazine online. Retrieved 2008-01-01.
Coville, Frederick Vernon (May 1893). "Death of Dr. George Vasey". Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club. Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club, Vol. 20, No. 5. 20 (5): 218–220. JSTOR 2477497.
Canby, Wm. M.; Rose, J. N. (May 1893). "George Vasey: A Biographical Sketch". Botanical Gazette. 18 (5): 178–183. doi:10.1086/326929. JSTOR 2464581. S2CID 84771961. (with bibliography)
Spady, Betty (2004). . Rhododendron and Azalea News. 3 (1). Archived from the original on 2008-03-14. Retrieved 2007-12-31.
Pennington, Susan J. (2004). "The Rebirth of the Contributions Series" (PDF). The Plant Press. 7 (4): 1. Retrieved 2007-12-31.
Armstrong, Joseph E. . Archived from the original on 2008-05-09. Retrieved 2008-01-01.
george, vasey, botanist, george, vasey, february, 1822, march, 1893, english, born, american, botanist, collected, illinois, before, integrating, united, states, department, agriculture, usda, where, became, chief, botanist, curator, greatly, expanded, nationa. George Vasey February 28 1822 March 3 1893 was an English born American botanist who collected a lot in Illinois before integrating the United States Department of Agriculture USDA where he became Chief Botanist and curator of the greatly expanded National Herbarium George VaseyBornFebruary 28 1822Scarborough North Riding of Yorkshire EnglandDiedMarch 4 1893 1893 03 05 aged 71 Washington D C United StatesAlma materBerkshire Medical InstituteKnown forChief Botanist of USDA creator of the United States National HerbariumAwardsHon M A fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and American Academy of Arts and Sciences Scientific careerInstitutionsUSDAAuthor abbrev botany Vasey Contents 1 Biography 2 Works 3 Notes 4 References 5 External linksBiography editGeorge Vasey was born in 1822 near Scarborough England the fourth of ten children His family emigrated to the United States the next year and they established in Oriskany New York He left school at 12 to take a job as a store clerk He took interest in botany after borrowing and since he could not afford the volume manually copying a book on the subject This interest was later encouraged after a chance encounter with Peter D Knieskern another naturalist who allowed Vasey to begin writing to various other botanists Until 1870 he would maintain an extensive correspondence and collect a great many specimens both in Oneida County and later McHenry County but did not publish material of scientific relevance until the 1870s Vasey married Martha Jane Scott in 1846 having graduated the same year from Berkshire Medical Institute with a M D degree and shortly after they moved to establish themselves in Ringwood Illinois In 1854 he opened a dry good store to support his family of 7 four children and his mother In 1858 he was a founding member of the Illinois Natural History Society and over the next few years began writing prolifically for the society and the Prairie Farmer He had two more children by 1861 but in 1864 he lost his youngest to whooping cough When his wife began to grow weaker Vasey relocated the family to Richview to no avail Martha Vasey died in 1866 After a brief period where he stopped writing he remarried to a widow but was beset with heavy financial trouble by the time John Wesley Powell invited him to participate in an expedition in 1868 Greatly enthused by the adventure he dedicated himself to scientific pursuit He briefly edited Entomologist and Botanist before being curator of the Illinois State University Natural History Museum He resigned the latter position to succeed Charles Christopher Parry as the USDA Chief Botanist He quickly began work to improve the poor state of the National Herbarium then organized an exhibit of the country s trees for the Centennial Exposition The herbarium hosted by the Smithsonian Institution is considered the crowning of his career particularly its grass collection of which he was a specialist in 1889 the Institute named him Honorary Curator As Chief Botanist he launched the Contributions from the United States National Herbarium With George Thurber he worked on grasses for Asa Gray and John Torrey s Flora of North America He was granted an honorary M A in 1864 from Illinois Wesleyan University In 1869 he was made a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and in 1892 of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences that same year he was representative to the 1892 International Botanical Congress in Genoa where he was a vice president Of his published work his several volumes monograph of the United States grass the last part of which was published after his death is one of the most notable as are his 1884 Agricultural Grasses of the United States and his work to describe unpublished species who had accumulated in the herbarium a work he completed less than a week before his death in 1893 from peritonitis Three genera Vaseya now part of Muhlenbergia Vaseyochloa and Vaseyanthus as well as numerous species were named after him although it is not always clear whether they are named after himself or his son George Richard Vasey who collected widely after his father entered the USDA and after which Rhododendron vaseyi is most likely named Works editDelineations of the Ox Tribe or the Natural History of Bulls Bisons and Buffaloes London G Biggs 1851 A Descriptive Catalogue of the Native Forest Trees of the United States Washington 1876 The Grasses of the United States a Synopsis of the Tribes with Descriptions of the Genera 1883 Agricultural Grasses of the United States 1884 A Descriptive Catalogue of the Grasses of the United States 1885 Report of an Investigation of the Grasses of the Arid Districts 2 parts 1886 87 Grasses of the South 1887 Grasses of the Southwest 1890 91 Grasses of the Pacific Slope 1892 93 The standard author abbreviation Vasey is used to indicate this person as the author when citing a botanical name 1 Notes editThis article includes a list of general references but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations May 2013 Learn how and when to remove this template message International Plant Names Index Vasey References editCollins Ed Winter 2001 Searching for Doctor Vasey Chicago Wilderness Magazine online Retrieved 2008 01 01 Coville Frederick Vernon May 1893 Death of Dr George Vasey Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club Vol 20 No 5 20 5 218 220 JSTOR 2477497 Canby Wm M Rose J N May 1893 George Vasey A Biographical Sketch Botanical Gazette 18 5 178 183 doi 10 1086 326929 JSTOR 2464581 S2CID 84771961 with bibliography Spady Betty 2004 George Vasey An Email Conversation Rhododendron and Azalea News 3 1 Archived from the original on 2008 03 14 Retrieved 2007 12 31 Pennington Susan J 2004 The Rebirth of the Contributions Series PDF The Plant Press 7 4 1 Retrieved 2007 12 31 Armstrong Joseph E George S Vasey Herbarium ISU Archived from the original on 2008 05 09 Retrieved 2008 01 01 Rines George Edwin ed 1920 Vasey George Encyclopedia Americana Wilson J G Fiske J eds 1889 Vasey George Appletons Cyclopaedia of American Biography New York D Appleton External links editWorks by George Vasey at Project Gutenberg Works by or about George Vasey at Internet Archive Works by Vasey at Biodiversity Heritage Library Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title George Vasey botanist amp oldid 1176614951, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
