Howard Samuel Irwin Jr. (March 28, 1928 – January 23, 2019) was an American

botanist 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

taxonomist In biology, taxonomy () is the science, scientific study of naming, defining (Circumscription (taxonomy), circumscribing) and classifying groups of biological organisms based on shared characteristics. Organisms are grouped into taxon, taxa (si ...

who specialized in the genus '' Cassia'' and worked as an administrator at the

New York Botanical Garden The New York Botanical Garden (NYBG) is a botanical garden at Bronx Park in the Bronx, New York City. Established in 1891, it is located on a site that contains a landscape with over one million living plants; the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory, ...

Long Island University Long Island University (LIU) is a private university in Brooklyn and Brookville, New York, United States. The university enrolls over 16,000 students and offers over 500 academic programs at its main campuses, LIU Brooklyn and LIU Post on Long I ...

, and the

Brooklyn Botanic Garden Brooklyn Botanic Garden (BBG) is a botanical garden in the Borough (New York City), borough of Brooklyn in New York City. The botanical garden occupies in central Brooklyn, close to Mount Prospect Park, Prospect Park (Brooklyn), Prospect Park, ...

Early life and education

Irwin was born in

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville is the List of cities in Kentucky, most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeastern United States, Southeast, and the list of United States cities by population, 27th-most-populous city ...

, in 1928. He began his education at Mount Hermon School in

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

, after which point he entered

Hofstra College Hofstra University is a private research university in Hempstead, New York, United States. It originated in 1935 as an extension of New York University and became an independent college in 1939. Comprising ten schools, including the Zucker Scho ...

to pursue a career in music. He then transferred to the

College of Puget Sound The University of Puget Sound is a private liberal arts college in Tacoma, Washington, United States. It was founded in 1888. The institution offers a variety of undergraduate degrees as well as five graduate programs in counseling, education, oc ...

where he earned an undergraduate degree in biology with minors in music and history in 1950, and a subsequent degree in education. Irwin was then a

Fulbright The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States cultural exchange programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people ...

teacher 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

zoology Zoology ( , ) is the scientific study of animals. Its studies include the anatomy, structure, embryology, Biological classification, classification, Ethology, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinction, extinct, and ...

at Queen's College in

British Guiana British Guiana was a British colony, part of the mainland British West Indies. It was located on the northern coast of South America. Since 1966 it has been known as the independent nation of Guyana. The first known Europeans to encounter Guia ...

from 1952 until 1956. During that time he was a correspondent for ''

Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...

'' magazine. In 1956 he began work on his PhD in taxonomic botany at the

University of Texas The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 students as of fall 2 ...

, earning his degree in 1960.

The New York Botanical Garden

Irwin first began his association with the New York Botanical Garden while a graduate student at the

University of Texas, Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 students as of fall 20 ...

. During his time as a PhD student, Irwin traveled to

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

and collected botanical specimens on behalf of NYBG, with the bulk of his collecting as a student taking place in 1958. Irwin's field notebooks from his time in Brazil (in total eight expeditions between the 1950s and the 1970s) are held by the Archives of the New York Botanical Garden, along with earlier notebooks documenting his time in

Guyana Guyana, officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern coast of South America, part of the historic British West Indies. entry "Guyana" Georgetown, Guyana, Georgetown is the capital of Guyana and is also the co ...

and notebooks for an expedition to

Suriname Suriname, officially the Republic of Suriname, is a country in northern South America, also considered as part of the Caribbean and the West Indies. It is a developing country with a Human Development Index, high level of human development; i ...

between 1960 and 1972. Irwin's vouchers were also deposited at NYBG and many can be viewed through the C. V. Starr Virtual Herbarium. Irwin was hired as a research associate at NYBG in 1960, promoted to associate curator in 1963, curator and administrator of the herbarium in 1966, head curator in 1968, executive director in 1971, and president in 1973, a position that he held until 1979 to embark on a sabbatical to pursue scientific research and writing projects. The tenure of his administration is remembered as the most difficult financial period for NYBG, and Irwin is credited with leading the organization during a very challenging time. Donald J. Bruckmann, chairman of the board of managers of the New York Botanical Garden, wrote of Irwin upon his departure: "Under his stewardship he brought the Garden to new eminence in the world of horticulture and plant science, and made it a great cultural institution in the city with the highest standards in the world. During his tenure the

Enid A. Haupt Conservatory The Enid A. Haupt Conservatory is a greenhouse at the New York Botanical Garden (NYBG) in the Bronx, New York, United States. The conservatory was designed by Lord & Burnham Co. in the Italian Renaissance style. Its major design features are insp ...

was restored and The Cary Arboretum in

Millbrook, NY Millbrook is a village in Dutchess County, New York, United States. Millbrook is located in the Hudson Valley, on the east side of the Hudson River, north of New York City. Millbrook is near the center of the town of Washington, of which it is a ...

was established." In addition to his administrative work, Irwin is credited with initiating the Planalto do Brasil Program for the botanical study of the

Brazilian Highlands The Brazilian Highlands or Brazilian Plateau () is an extensive geographical region covering most of the eastern, southern and central portions of Brazil, in all some 4,500,000 km2 (1,930,511 sq mi) or approximately half of the country's la ...

region.

Additional employment

Irwin was appointed vice chancellor of

from 1980 until 1983 and director of

Clark Botanic Garden Clark Botanic Garden is a botanical garden and park in Roslyn Heights, New York, United States. Description The garden, designed by garden designer Alice Recknagel Ireys, was established in 1969 on the former estate of Grenville Clark, an a ...

of the

from 1983 until 1991. He is trustee emeritus of the Truro Conservation Trust in

Truro, Massachusetts Truro is a town in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States, comprising two villages: Truro and North Truro. Located slightly more than 100 miles (160 km) by road from Boston, it is a summer vacation community just south of the n ...

, elected in 2008 after serving on the trust board from 2003 until 2008.

Honors and associations

* Former adjunct professor of

Lehman College Lehman College is a public college in New York City, United States. Founded in 1931 as the Bronx campus of Hunter College, it became an independent college in 1967. The college is named after Herbert H. Lehman, a former New York governor, United ...

* Contributing editor to

Encyclopedia Americana ''Encyclopedia Americana'' is a general encyclopedia written in American English. It was the first general encyclopedia of any magnitude to be published in North America. With '' Collier's Encyclopedia'' and ''Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclo ...

* Fellow of the

New York Academy of Sciences The New York Academy of Sciences (NYAS), originally founded as the Lyceum of Natural History in January 1817, is a nonprofit professional society based in New York City, with more than 20,000 members from 100 countries. It is the fourth-oldes ...

Personal life

Irwin and Marian Campbell Sterne married in the early 1950s and had two daughters. Irwin and Anne Lieb Wolff (now Anne Lieb Irwin) married on April 22, 1979, at the

in the

Bronx, NY The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...

. Wolff graduated from

Oberlin College Oberlin College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college and conservatory of music in Oberlin, Ohio, United States. Founded in 1833, it is the oldest Mixed-sex education, coeducational lib ...

in 1946 and earned a master's degree from the

Columbia University School of Social Work The Columbia School of Social Work is the graduate school of social work of Columbia University in New York City. It is one of the oldest social work programs in the US, with roots extending back to 1898. It began awarding a Master of Science d ...

. At the time of their marriage, she was a

potter A potter is someone who makes pottery. Potter may also refer to: Places United States *Potter, originally a section on the Alaska Railroad, currently a neighborhood of Anchorage, Alaska, US *Potter, Arkansas *Potter, Nebraska *Potters, New Jerse ...

and

craft A craft or trade is a pastime or an occupation that requires particular skills and knowledge of skilled work. In a historical sense, particularly the Middle Ages and earlier, the term is usually applied to people occupied in small scale pr ...

instructor at the

Hebrew Home for the Aged Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...

in Riverdale, a neighborhood in the Bronx. The Irwins showed a strong commitment to

conservation Conservation is the preservation or efficient use of resources, or the conservation of various quantities under physical laws. Conservation may also refer to: Environment and natural resources * Nature conservation, the protection and manage ...

, placing a conservation restriction on their property within the

Cape Cod National Seashore The Cape Cod National Seashore (CCNS) encompasses on Cape Cod, in Massachusetts. CCNS was created on August 7, 1961, by President John F. Kennedy, when he signed a bill enacting the legislation he first co-sponsored as a Senator a few years pr ...

which was purchased by Anne Lieb Irwin's grandparents in 1920.

Select publications

* Goodland, Robert JA, and Howard S. Irwin. "Amazon jungle: green hell to red desert?". ''Developments in Landscape Management and Urban Planning'' (Netherlands) eng no. 1 (1975). * Irwin, Howard S., and Rupert C. Barneby
"The American cassiinaea synoptical revision of leguminosae tribe cassieae subtribe cassiinae in the New World"
No. 580.744747 M4/v. 35/2. 1982. * Irwin, Howard S., and Rupert C. Barneby
"Monographic Studies in Cassia (Leguminosae Caesalpinioideae), III, Sections Absus and Grimaldia"
New York Botanical Garden, 1978. * Wills, Mary Motz, and Howard S. Irwin. "Roadside flowers of Texas". (1961). * Irwin, Howard S. "Monographic studies in Cassia (Leguminosae-Caesalpinioideae). I. Section Xerocalyx". ''Mem. NY Bot. Gdn'' 12.1 (1964): 1–114. * Goodland, R., Howard S. Irwin, and Gus Tillman. "Ecological development for Amazonia". ''

Ciência e Cultura ''Ciência e Cultura'' is a science magazine published by the ''Brazilian Society for the Advancement of Science'' (Sociedade Brasileira para o Progresso da Ciência, SBPC). The magazine is published three times a year. History The magazine was ...

''. (1978).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Irwin, Howard S. 1928 births American botanists New York Botanical Garden 2019 deaths Scientists from Louisville, Kentucky Hofstra University alumni