Elmer Drew Merrill

Elmer Drew Merrill is a American Botaniste , born the October 15th 1876 with East Auburn, Maine and dead the February 25th 1956 with Forest Hills, Massachusetts.

It obtains its Bachelor off Sciences with the Université of Maine. Of 1899 with 1902, he is assistant with the American ministry for agriculture as specialist in the Herbacée S. He studies, of 1900 with 1901, the Médecine with the Université George Washington.

Merrill obtains its Master off Sciences in 1904. He works until in 1923 for various agencies and American governmental services with the Filipino and directs in particular the Office of the science of 1919 to 1923. Merrill completes there a vast work of inventory of the flora of the archipelago and visit the majority of the islands. It makes appear in 1912, has Flora off Shackled then, between 1922 and 1926, four volumes of An Enumeration off Filipino Flowering Plants . In 1923, it is elected with the National Academy off Sciences. Of 1923 with 1929, he is senior of the faculty of agriculture and the director of the experimental station of the university of Berkeley. It contributes to entirely reorganizing teaching, modernizes the equipment, increases in an important way the budget and stimulates the basic research. In 1925, it receives a honorary Doctorat off Sciences of the Université of Maine, it will receive two other titles honoris causa by the the University of California and by Yale. In spite of its administrative responsibilities, it continues to make research, to enrich the herbarium by hundreds of thousands of specimens and to make appear publications, an activity which makes it call the small dynamo .

Of 1930 with 1935, it teaches botany with the Université Columbia and directs the Botanical garden of the town of New York. He engages Donald Wyman (1903-) in order to improve the activity in horticulture of the institution. He reorganizes department of botany damaged by the hurricane of 1938 and the damage caused by the war (the buildings had been partly used as storage section). He founds the review Britonnia , baptized in the honor of Nathaniel Lord Britton (1859-1934), and chairs the American Association for the Advancement off Science thus, that in 1934, the Botanical Society off America and, in 1946, the American Society off Seedling Taxonomists. In 1935, it receives the Arnold pulpit of botany to the Université of Harvard and directs, until in 1946, the Arboretum of the university; of 1946 with 1948, it is named professor emeritus. It largely improves operation of the arboretum and more particularly centers it on the Horticulture. Its knowledge of the flora of the areas of the Pacific is put at contribution during the Second world war and it off carries out a handbook intended for the soldiers on mission in this area Emergency food seedlings and Poisonous seedlings the islands off the Pacific . After its departure with the retirement, it transfer its collections and its files to the Gray herbarium in Jamaica Lime pit in Massachusetts and continues to take an active share with the scientific life of its country. It finances in particular searchs for grounds with botanists in Asia and continues to enrich the arboretum.

With Egbert Hamilton Walker (1899-1991), it makes appear, in 1938, Bibliography off Eastern Asiatic Botany then, only, in 1946, Plant Life off the Pacific World . He is the author of almost five hundred publications and books.

Sources

Biography of Harvard University Library
Biography of Charles H. Smith

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