Augustus Fendler (January 10, 1813 – November 27, 1883), alternatively written as August Fendler, was a

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an ...

n-born American natural history collector.Augustus Fendler
at the SIA archives.

Early travels

Fendler first attended preparatory school at the age of 12. After four years, he discontinued his education for financial reasons and apprenticed for the town clerk. He disliked the work, and yearned for travel.William Marriott Canby: ''An Autobiographie and Some Reminiscences of the Late August Fendler. I.'' In: ''

Botanical Gazette The ''International Journal of Plant Sciences'' covers botanical research including genetics and genomics, developmental and cell biology, biochemistry and physiology, morphology and structure, systematics, plant-microbe interactions, paleobotany ...

''. Band 10, Nummer 6, 1885, S. 285–290
(online).
/ref> Fendler gained his first taste of exploration as a physician's assistant. He partook in an inspection trip of the cholera quarantine camps on the Russian border of Prussia. Upon his return, he briefly worked as a

tanner Tanner may refer to: * Tanner (occupation), the tanning of leather and hides People * Tanner (given name), * Tanner (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) *The Tanner Sisters, also referred to as "The Harbingers of Weir ...

, then spent a year in a polytechnical school based in

Berlin Berlin is Capital of Germany, the capital and largest city of Germany, both by area and List of cities in Germany by population, by population. Its more than 3.85 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European U ...

. He dropped out and found his way to

Bremen Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (german: Stadtgemeinde Bremen, ), is the capital of the Germany, German States of Germany, state Bremen (state), Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (''Freie H ...

, eventually sailing to

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

in 1836. Fendler initially found work as a tanner in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

, then moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

and pursued lamp manufacturing. The

panic of 1837 The Panic of 1837 was a financial crisis in the United States that touched off a major depression, which lasted until the mid-1840s. Profits, prices, and wages went down, westward expansion was stalled, unemployment went up, and pessimism abound ...

lead to the closing of his shop, and consequently, he left New York for

St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

in 1838. He resumed working in the lamp business, but left the city shortly before Christmas the same year. Fendler continued south through

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

. He was granted a land permit in

Houston Houston (; ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in Texas, the Southern United States#Major cities, most populous city in the Southern United States, the List of United States cities by population, fourth-most pop ...

, but abandoned the claim as he had no rifle nor interest in fighting

Comanches The Comanche or Nʉmʉnʉʉ ( com, Nʉmʉnʉʉ, "the people") are a Native American tribe from the Southern Plains of the present-day United States. Comanche people today belong to the federally recognized Comanche Nation, headquartered in ...

to secure the land.Stieber, Michael T., and Carla Lange. “Augustus Fendler (1813-1883), Professional Plant Collector: Selected Correspondence with George Engelmann.” Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden, vol. 73, no. 3, 1986, pp. 520–531. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/2399191.

Yellow fever Yellow fever is a viral disease of typically short duration. In most cases, symptoms include fever, chills, loss of appetite, nausea, muscle pains – particularly in the back – and headaches. Symptoms typically improve within five days. In ...

drove Fendler from Texas, and he became a school teacher in

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Roc ...

. Suddenly driven by the desire for a solitary life, he settled in a dilapidated log cabin on an island on the Missouri River near

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by m ...

. He remained here for six months, surviving off of wild game and reading. He left after the island became flooded. In 1841, he returned to

Königsberg Königsberg (, ) was the historic Prussian city that is now Kaliningrad, Russia. Königsberg was founded in 1255 on the site of the ancient Old Prussian settlement ''Twangste'' by the Teutonic Knights during the Northern Crusades, and was na ...

, Prussia.

Initial collections

Ernst Heinrich Friedrich Meyer Ernst Heinrich Friedrich Meyer (1 January 1791 – 7 August 1858) was a German botanist and botanical historian. Born in Hanover, he lectured in Göttingen and in 1826 became a professor of botany at the University of Königsberg, as well as Dir ...

, professor of botany at the

University of Königsberg The University of Königsberg (german: Albertus-Universität Königsberg) was the university of Königsberg in East Prussia. It was founded in 1544 as the world's second Protestant academy (after the University of Marburg) by Duke Albert of Pruss ...

, convinced Fendler that he could make a profit collecting plant specimens. He went back to St. Louis with his brother, making the acquaintance of

Georg Engelmann George Engelmann, also known as Georg Engelmann, (2 February 1809 – 4 February 1884) was a German-American botanist. He was instrumental in describing the flora of the west of North America, then very poorly known to Europeans; he was particu ...

. Fendler began sending his specimens to

Asa Gray Asa Gray (November 18, 1810 – January 30, 1888) is considered the most important American botanist of the 19th century. His '' Darwiniana'' was considered an important explanation of how religion and science were not necessarily mutually ex ...

at the behest of Engelmann. During the

Mexican American War Mexican may refer to: Mexico and its culture *Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America ** People *** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants *** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...

in 1846, Fendler traveled with the U.S Army to

Santa Fe, New Mexico Santa Fe ( ; , Spanish for 'Holy Faith'; tew, Oghá P'o'oge, Tewa for 'white shell water place'; tiw, Hulp'ó'ona, label= Northern Tiwa; nv, Yootó, Navajo for 'bead + water place') is the capital of the U.S. state of New Mexico. The name “S ...

. He collected specimens throughout the year, once again returning to St. Louis in 1847. His collection is hailed as the first from this part of the country, and he collected over 17,000 specimens during this trip. In 1849, he attempted to travel to the Great Salt Lake, but a flood stymied his progress. On his return to St. Louis, he found a

fire Fire is the rapid oxidation of a material (the fuel) in the exothermic chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction Product (chemistry), products. At a certain point in the combustion reaction, called the ignition ...

destroyed all his possessions, personal collections, and travel journals. He left the city with his brother, and continued to New Orleans. He gathered supplies for a collecting trip at Englemann's expense, and sailed to Chagres, Panama. Fendler collected at the mouth of the Chagres River for four months. He arrived back in New Orleans on April 20, 1850, but continued up to Camden, Arkansas to make further collections. The Fendler brothers, running low on funds, opened up a gas lamp business in

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the County seat, seat of Shelby County, Tennessee, Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 Uni ...

. Fendler continued to collect plants in his spare time, and began running horticultural experiments with some of the specimens he collected. He reported his data to Englemann and the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...

. By late 1853, the lamp business became unprofitable and Fendler sought to move again.

Venezuelan collections

On the December 24, 1853, the Fendlers left New York harbor for

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in ...

. They arrived at

La Guaira La Guaira () is the capital city of the Venezuelan state of the same name (formerly named Vargas) and the country's main port. It was founded in 1577 as an outlet for Caracas, to the southeast. The town and the port were badly damaged during ...

on January 21, 1854, and Fendler immediately began collecting plants. Although initially hoping to settle in

Caracas Caracas (, ), officially Santiago de León de Caracas, abbreviated as CCS, is the capital and largest city of Venezuela, and the center of the Metropolitan Region of Caracas (or Greater Caracas). Caracas is located along the Guaire River in the ...

, the expensive cost of living in the city prompted them to purchase a small farm near

Colonia Tovar Colonia Tovar ( en, Tovar Colony) is a town of Venezuela, capital of the municipality Tovar in Aragua state. It is located about west of Caracas. It was founded on April 8, 1843, by a group of 390 immigrants from the then independent state of th ...

. In Venezuela, he not only collected plants, but also operated meteorological studies during his stay. He collaborated with

Joseph Henry Joseph Henry (December 17, 1797– May 13, 1878) was an American scientist who served as the first Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution. He was the secretary for the National Institute for the Promotion of Science, a precursor of the Smit ...

of the Smithsonian Institution, who published his observations.Todzia, Carol A. “Augustus Fendler's Venezuelan Plant Collections.” Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden, vol. 76, no. 1, 1989, pp. 310–329. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/2399350. After two years of collecting in Colonia Tovar, Fendler was forced to take longer excursions to find new specimens. He traveled from Maracai to

Puerto Colombia Puerto Colombia is a coastal town and municipality in Atlántico Department, Colombia founded in the mid 1800s. Famous for its "Pier of Puerto Colombia", that at one time was the largest Pier in the world. Duties were later transferred to the ...

, as well as from

Valencia Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the autonomous community of Valencia and the third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is also the capital of the province of the same name. The wider urban area al ...

to San Estevan. He also traveled from Petaquire to the Atlantic coast. Fendler visited the United States in 1856, selling moss specimens to William Starling Sullivant and lichen specimens to

Edward Tuckerman Edward Tuckerman (December 7, 1817 in Boston, Massachusetts – March 15, 1886) was an American botanist and professor who made significant contributions to the study of lichens and other alpine plants. He was a founding member of the Natura ...

Later life

The Fendlers returned to St. Louis in 1864, and they purchased a densely wooded tract of land in

Allenton, Missouri Eureka is a city located in St. Louis County, Missouri, United States, adjacent to the cities of Wildwood and Pacific, along Interstate 44. It is in the extreme southwest of the Greater St. Louis metro area. As of the 2020 census, the city ...

. They cleared the land and homesteaded for the next 7 years. Fendler accepted a short-term offer from Asa Gray to work as his curator in

Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As part of the Greater Boston, Boston metropolitan area, the cities population of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 U.S. census was 118,403, making it the fourth most ...

. The brothers sold the farm in 1871, and visited Germany. Here, Fendler improved his botanical knowledge through visits with Johann Caspary and

Alexander Braun Alexander Carl Heinrich Braun (10 May 1805 – 29 March 1877) was a German botanist from Regensburg, Bavaria. His research centered on the morphology of plants. Biography He studied botany in Heidelberg, Paris and Munich. In 1833 he began teac ...

. The brothers returned to the United States in 1873. The brothers initially settled in

Wilmington, Delaware Wilmington (Lenape: ''Paxahakink /'' ''Pakehakink)'' is the largest city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish settlement in North America. It lies at the confluence of the Christin ...

, with Fendler finding employment arranging herbarium specimens for

William Marriott Canby William Marriott Canby Sr. (1831–1904) was an American banker, business executive, philanthropist and botanist. He is famous as a leading expert on the flora of Delaware and the "eastern shore" region of Maryland and as an epistolary corresponde ...

. Here he continued making meteorological observations for Engelmann. Discomfort caused by

rheumatism Rheumatism or rheumatic disorders are conditions causing chronic, often intermittent pain affecting the joints or connective tissue. Rheumatism does not designate any specific disorder, but covers at least 200 different conditions, including ar ...

had Fendler searching for a place with a fairer climate. Fendler therefore moved to

Port of Spain Port of Spain ( Spanish: ''Puerto España''), officially the City of Port of Spain (also stylized Port-of-Spain), is the capital of Trinidad and Tobago and the third largest municipality, after Chaguanas and San Fernando. The city has a munic ...

Trinidad Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands of Trinidad and Tobago. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is often referred to as the southernmos ...

in 1877. Fendler continued collecting plants and corresponding with Canby, Gray and Engelmann until his death on November 27, 1883.

Eponyms

Genera

* (

Hydrangeaceae Hydrangeaceae is a family of flowering plants in the order Cornales, with a wide distribution in Asia and North America, and locally in southeastern Europe. Description The genera are characterised by leaves in opposite pairs (rarely whorled o ...

) ''

Fendlera ''Fendlera'' is a genus of shrubs in the Hydrangeaceae Hydrangeaceae is a family of flowering plants in the order Cornales, with a wide distribution in Asia and North America, and locally in southeastern Europe. Description The genera are c ...

Engelm. George Engelmann, also known as Georg Engelmann, (2 February 1809 – 4 February 1884) was a German-American botanist. He was instrumental in describing the flora (plants), flora of the west of North America, then very poorly known to Europeans; ...

A.Gray Asa Gray (November 18, 1810 – January 30, 1888) is considered the most important American botanist of the 19th century. His '' Darwiniana'' was considered an important explanation of how religion and science were not necessarily mutually exc ...

* (

) ''

Fendlerella ''Fendlerella'' is a monotypic genus of shrubs in the Hydrangeaceae containing the single species ''Fendlerella utahensis''. This plant is known as Utah fendlerella, yerba desierto, or sometimes as Utah fendlerbush (it having previously been inc ...

'' (

Greene Greene may refer to: Places United States *Greene, Indiana, an unincorporated community *Greene, Iowa, a city *Greene, Maine, a town **Greene (CDP), Maine, in the town of Greene *Greene (town), New York ** Greene (village), New York, in the town ...

)

A.Heller Amos Arthur Heller (March 21, 1867 – May 19, 1944) was an American botanist Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientis ...

Species

* ( Adiantaceae) '' Argyrochosma fendleri'' ( Kunze) Windham * (

Annonaceae The Annonaceae are a family of flowering plants consisting of trees, shrubs, or rarely lianas commonly known as the custard apple family or soursop family. With 108 accepted genera and about 2400 known species, it is the largest family in the M ...

) '' Annona fendleri'' (

R.E.Fr. (Klas) Robert Elias Fries (11 July 1876, Uppsala – 29 January 1966, Stockholm), the youngest son of Theodor Magnus Fries (1832–1913) and grandson of Elias Magnus Fries(1794–1878) and an expert on mushrooms. A Swedish botanist who was a ...

) H.Rainer * (

Apiaceae Apiaceae or Umbelliferae is a family of mostly aromatic flowering plants named after the type genus '' Apium'' and commonly known as the celery, carrot or parsley family, or simply as umbellifers. It is the 16th-largest family of flowering plant ...

) ''

Tiedemannia fendleri ''Tiedemannia'' is a small genus of flowering plants in the Apiaceae, carrot family known as cowbanes and dropworts. Species in this genus have been formerly classified in the genera ''Conium'', ''Oenanthe (plant), Oenanthe'', and ''Oxypolis''. ...

J.M.Coult. John Merle Coulter, Ph. D. (November 20, 1851 – December 23, 1928) was an American botanist and educator. In his career in education administration, Coulter is notable for serving as the president of Indiana University and Lake Forest College ...

Rose A rose is either a woody perennial flowering plant of the genus ''Rosa'' (), in the family Rosaceae (), or the flower it bears. There are over three hundred species and tens of thousands of cultivars. They form a group of plants that can b ...

* (

Apocynaceae Apocynaceae (from ''Apocynum'', Greek for "dog-away") is a family of flowering plants that includes trees, shrubs, herbs, stem succulents, and vines, commonly known as the dogbane family, because some taxa were used as dog poison Members of the ...

) '' Amblyanthera fendleri'' Müll.Arg. * (

Araceae The Araceae are a family of monocotyledonous flowering plants in which flowers are borne on a type of inflorescence called a spadix. The spadix is usually accompanied by, and sometimes partially enclosed in, a spathe (or leaf-like bract). ...

) ''

Monstera fendleri ''Monstera'' is a genus of 59 species of flowering plants in the arum family, Araceae, native to tropical regions of the Americas. Etymology The genus is named from the Latin word for "monstrous" or "abnormal", and refers to the unusual leaf, ...

'' Engl. * (

Araliaceae The Araliaceae are a family of flowering plants composed of about 43 genera and around 1500 species consisting of primarily woody plants and some herbaceous plants. The morphology of Araliaceae varies widely, but it is predominantly distinguisha ...

) ''

Dendropanax fendleri ''Dendropanax'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Araliaceae, consisting of 92 species of evergreen trees and shrubs, first described by Joseph Decaisne & Jules Émile Planchon in 1854.Decaisne, J. & Planchon, J.E. (1854) Rev. Hort. ...

Seem. Berthold Carl Seemann (25 February 1825, in Hanover, Germany – 10 October 1871, in Nicaragua, Central America), was a German botanist. He travelled widely and collected and described plants from the Pacific and South America. In 1844 he trav ...

* (

Asclepiadaceae The Asclepiadoideae are a subfamily of plants in the family Apocynaceae. Formerly, they were treated as a separate family under the name Asclepiadaceae, e.g. by APG II, and known as the milkweed family. They form a group of perennial herbs, tw ...

) ''

Funastrum fendleri ''Funastrum'' is a genus of flowering plant now in the family Apocynaceae. The name is derived from the Latin word ''funis'', meaning "rope", and ''astrum'', alluding to the twining stems. Members of the genus are commonly known as twinevines. ...

Schltr. Friedrich Richard Rudolf Schlechter (16 October 1872 – 16 November 1925) was a German Taxonomy (biology), taxonomist, botanist, and author of several works on orchids. He went on botanical expeditions in Africa, Indonesia, New Guinea, South Ame ...

* (

Asteraceae The family Asteraceae, alternatively Compositae, consists of over 32,000 known species of flowering plants in over 1,900 genera within the order Asterales. Commonly referred to as the aster, daisy, composite, or sunflower family, Compositae ...

) ''

Heteropleura fendleri ''Hieracium fendleri'' is a North American plant species in the tribe Cichorieae within the family Asteraceae. It is widespread across much of the western part of the continent, from the Black Hills of Wyoming and South Dakota south as far as Gu ...

'' ( Sch.Bip.)

Rydb. Per Axel Rydberg (July 6, 1860 – July 25, 1931) was a Swedish-born, American botanist who was the first curator of the New York Botanical Garden Herbarium. Biography Per Axel Rydberg was born in Odh, Västergötland, Sweden and emigrated to ...

(GCI) * (

Blechnaceae Blechnaceae is a family of ferns in the order Polypodiales, with a cosmopolitan distribution. Its status as a family and the number of genera included have both varied considerably. In the Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group classification of 2016 ...

) '' Spicanta fendleri'' (

Hook. Sir William Jackson Hooker (6 July 178512 August 1865) was an English botanist and botanical illustrator, who became the first director of Kew when in 1841 it was recommended to be placed under state ownership as a botanic garden. At Kew ...

)

Kuntze Kuntze is a surname of German origin. People with that name include: * Carl Kuntze (1922-2006), Dutch rower who competed at the 1952 Summer Olympics * Edward J. Kuntze (1826-1870), Prussian-born American sculptor * Otto Kuntze Carl Ernst Otto K ...

* (

Cactaceae A cactus (, or less commonly, cactus) is a member of the plant family Cactaceae, a family comprising about 127 genera with some 1750 known species of the order Caryophyllales. The word ''cactus'' derives, through Latin, from the Ancient Greek ...

) ''

Echinocereus fendleri ''Echinocereus fendleri'' is a species of cactus known by the common names pinkflower hedgehog cactus and Fendler's hedgehog cactus. It is named in honor of Augustus Fendler. It grows in deserts and woodlands in the Southwestern United States a ...

'' (

) Sencke ex J.N.Haage * (

Malvaceae Malvaceae, or the mallows, is a family of flowering plants estimated to contain 244 genera with 4225 known species. Well-known members of economic importance include okra, cotton, cacao and durian. There are also some genera containing familiar o ...

) ''

Sphaeralcea fendleri ''Sphaeralcea'' is a genus of flowering plants in the mallow family (biology), family (Malvaceae). There are about 40-60 species, including annual plant, annuals, Perennial plant, perennials, and shrubs. Most originate in the drier regions of No ...

* (

Ranunculaceae Ranunculaceae (buttercup or crowfoot family; Latin "little frog", from "frog") is a family of over 2,000 known species of flowering plants in 43 genera, distributed worldwide. The largest genera are '' Ranunculus'' (600 species), '' Delphiniu ...

) ''

Thalictrum fendleri ''Thalictrum fendleri'' is a species of flowering plant in the buttercup family known by the common name Fendler's meadow-rue. It is named in honor of Augustus Fendler. The plant is native to western North America, including much of the wester ...

Thalictrum fendleri at SEINet
/ref> * (

Selaginellaceae ''Selaginella'' is the sole genus of vascular plants in the family Selaginellaceae, the spikemosses or lesser clubmosses. This family is distinguished from Lycopodiaceae (the clubmosses) by having scale-leaves bearing a ligule and by having ...

) ''

Selaginella fendleri ''Selaginella'' is the sole genus of vascular plants in the family Selaginellaceae, the spikemosses or lesser clubmosses. This family is distinguished from Lycopodiaceae (the clubmosses) by having scale-leaves bearing a ligule and by having ...

'' (

Underw. Lucien Marcus Underwood (October 26, 1853 – November 16, 1907) was an American botanist and mycologist of the 19th and early 20th centuries. Early life and career He was born in New Woodstock, New York. He enrolled at Syracuse University in 18 ...

)

Hieron. Georg Hans Emmo Wolfgang Hieronymus (1846–1921) was a European botanist of German extraction. He was born in Silesia and died in Berlin. He began his career as a medical student in Zürich and Bern from 1868 to 1870, but became interested in b ...

Publications

*Fendler, Augustus
The Mechanism of the Universe, and Its Primary Effort-Exerting Powers. The Nature of Force and the Constitution of Matter.
Commercial Printing Co., 1874.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fendler, Augustus 1813 births 1883 deaths Natural history collectors