George Schoener, or Georg Schöner (March 21, 1864 – October 2, 1941) was a German-born

Roman Catholic priest The priesthood is the office of the ministers of religion, who have been commissioned ("ordained") with the holy orders of the Catholic Church. Technically, bishops are a priestly order as well; however, in common English usage ''priest'' re ...

who became known in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

as the "Padre of the Roses" for his experiments in

rose A rose is either a woody perennial plant, perennial flowering plant of the genus ''Rosa'' (), in the family Rosaceae (), or the flower it bears. There are over three hundred Rose species, species and Garden roses, tens of thousands of cultivar ...

breeding, especially in the use of wild species. Only two of his creations survive today, however: 'Arrilaga' and 'Schoener's Nutkana'. He was born into a peasant family of Steinach,

Baden Baden (; ) is a historical territory in southern Germany. In earlier times it was considered to be on both sides of the Upper Rhine, but since the Napoleonic Wars, it has been considered only East of the Rhine. History The margraves of Ba ...

. He studied in

Engelberg Engelberg (lit.: ''mountain of angel(s)'') is a village resort and a municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Obwalden in Switzerland. Alongside the central village of Engelberg, the municipality enc ...

and

Einsiedeln Einsiedeln () is a municipalities of Switzerland, municipality and Districts of Switzerland#Schwyz, district in the canton of Schwyz in Switzerland known for its monastery, the Benedictine Einsiedeln Abbey, established in the 10th century. Histor ...

from 1883 to 1889. An aunt enabled him to emigrate to America, where he became a priest in

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

. Afflicted with illnesses, he ended up in

Brooks, Oregon Brooks is an Unincorporated area, unincorporated community in Marion County, Oregon, Marion County, Oregon, United States. For statistical purposes, the United States Census Bureau has defined Brooks as a census-designated place (CDP). The census ...

in 1911, where the rose growing activity in nearby

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: *Portland, Oregon, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon *Portland, Maine, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine *Isle of Portland, a tied island in the English Channel Portland may also r ...

caught his interest. He searched the nearby hills for specimens of wild species such as ''

Rosa nutkana ''Rosa nutkana'', the Nootka rose, bristly rose, or wild rose is a perennial shrub in the rose family (Rosaceae).Santa Barbara, California Santa Barbara (, meaning ) is a coastal city in Santa Barbara County, California, of which it is also the county seat. Situated on a south-facing section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Coast of the United States excepting A ...

In 1939 he took up a position at

Santa Clara University Santa Clara University is a private university, private Jesuit university in Santa Clara, California, United States. Established in 1851, Santa Clara University is the oldest operating institution of higher learning in California. The university' ...

Santa Clara, California Santa Clara ( ; Spanish language, Spanish for "Clare of Assisi, Saint Clare") is a city in Santa Clara County, California. The city's population was 127,647 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities and towns i ...

, but died just two years later. The ''Georg-Schöner-Schule'', a

primary school A primary school (in Ireland, India, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, South Africa, and Singapore), elementary school, or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ...

in his hometown, Steinach, is named after him.

Notes

External links

Online bio, with pictures

{{DEFAULTSORT:Schoener, George 1864 births 1941 deaths People from Ortenaukreis People from the Grand Duchy of Baden American Roman Catholic priests American botanists Rose breeders German emigrants to the United States Catholic clergy scientists People from Marion County, Oregon Catholics from Oregon

See also

Notes

External links