Benjamin Matlack Everhart (April 24, 1818 – September 22, 1904) was an American mycologist from

West Chester, Pennsylvania West Chester is a borough (Pennsylvania), borough and the county seat of Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States. Located in the Delaware Valley, Philadelphia metropolitan area, the borough had a population of 18,671 at the 2020 census. West ...

Biography

Everhart was born in 1818. His father, William Everhart, the son of a

Revolutionary A revolutionary is a person who either participates in, or advocates for, a revolution. The term ''revolutionary'' can also be used as an adjective to describe something producing a major and sudden impact on society. Definition The term—bot ...

soldier, was a merchant, and a member of

congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

in 1853–55. Benjamin was educated in private schools in

, and spent his early life in mercantile business there and in

Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the List of municipalities in South Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint of South Carolina's coastline on Charleston Harbor, an inlet of the Atla ...

, making a comfortable fortune. From boyhood, he was an ardent student of

botany Botany, also called plant science, is the branch of natural science and biology studying plants, especially Plant anatomy, their anatomy, Plant taxonomy, taxonomy, and Plant ecology, ecology. A botanist or plant scientist is a scientist who s ...

, and after retiring from business in 1867 he devoted himself almost entirely to that science, particularly to cryptogamic botany. In connection with J. B. Ellis, of

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

, he was active in issuing yearly fifty volumes, called ''The Century of North American Fungi'', each volume describing 100 species. At the same time, with William A. Kellerman, of

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

, they published the ''Journal of Mycology''. He was co-editor of two

exsiccata Exsiccata (Latin, ''gen.'' -ae, ''plur.'' -ae) is a work with "published, uniform, numbered set of preserved specimens distributed with printed labels". Typically, exsiccatae are numbered collections of dried herbarium Biological specimen, spe ...

series distributed by J. B. Ellis.Triebel, D. & Scholz, P. 2001–2024 ''IndExs – Index of Exsiccatae''. – Botanische Staatssammlung München: http://indexs.botanischestaatssammlung.de. – München, Germany. He discovered many new fungi. The genus ''Everhartia'' was named by

Pier Andrea Saccardo Pier Andrea Saccardo (23 April 1845 in Treviso, Province of Treviso, Treviso – 12 February 1920 in Padua, Italy, Padua) was an Italian botany, botanist and mycology, mycologist. His multi-volume ''Sylloge Fungorum'' was one of the first attempt ...

in Everhart's honour (in 1888), as well as the following species: * ''Everhartia hymenuloides'' Sacc. et Ellis * ''Melanconis Everhartii'' Ellis * ''Myrioccoccum Everhartii'' Ellis & Sacc. * ''Ophionectria Everhartii'' Ellis & Gal. * ''Mucronoporus Everhartii'' Ellis & Gal. * ''Pestalozzia Everhartii'' Sacc. & Syd. * ''Sorosporium Everhartii'' Ellis & Gal. * ''Dothiorella Everhartii'' Sacc. & Syd. * ''Gloeosporium Everhartii'' Sacc. & Syd. * ''Myxosporium Everhartii'' Sacc. & Syd. * ''Phyllosticta Everhartii'' Sacc. & Syd. * ''Physalospora Everhartii'' Sacc. & Syd. * ''Septoria Everhartii'' Sacc. & Syd.

Personal life

His brother James Bowen Everhart was a member of congress. His brother John R. Everhart was a surgeon and author. He owned a mansion on West Manor Street in West Chester. Everhart died on September 22, 1904, in West Chester. He was buried at Oaklands Cemetery. A large portion of his estate was left to his cousin Isaiah Fawkes Everhart.

Legacy

Following his death, Everhart donated to West Chester for Everhart Park.

Notes

References

* Attribution * {{DEFAULTSORT:Everhart, Benjamin Matlack 1818 births 1904 deaths People from West Chester, Pennsylvania American mycologists 19th-century American businesspeople 19th-century American biologists Burials at Oaklands Cemetery