John Howard Redfield (July 10, 1815 – February 27, 1895) 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 ...

conchologist Conchology, from Ancient Greek κόγχος (''kónkhos''), meaning "cockle (bivalve), cockle", and -logy from λόγος (''lógos''), meaning "study", is the study of mollusc shells. Conchology is one aspect of malacology, the study of mollus ...

, and businessman. He was a founder of the Botany section of the

Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia The Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University, formerly the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, is the oldest natural science research institution and museum in the Americas. It was founded in 1812, by many of the leading natur ...

, and his chief botanical works include "Geographical Distribution of the Ferns of North America" and ''Flora of Mount Desert Island, Maine''. Redfield was born in

Middletown, Connecticut Middletown is a city in Middlesex County, Connecticut, United States. Located along the Connecticut River, in the central part of the state, 16 miles (25.749504 km) south of Hartford, Connecticut, Hartford. Middletown is the largest city in the L ...

, the eldest son of meteorologist William C. Redfield, who served as first president of the

American Association for the Advancement of Science The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is a United States–based international nonprofit with the stated mission of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific responsib ...

, and his first wife Abigail Wilcox. His mother died in 1819, and the Redfield family moved to New York City in 1827. In 1843 he married Mary Jane Whitney, daughter of manufacturer

Asa Whitney Asa Whitney (1797–1872) was a highly successful dry-goods merchant and one of the first promoters of an American transcontinental railroad. A trip to China in 1842–44 impressed upon Whitney the need for a railroad from the Atlantic to ...

, and with her had four children. He worked as an agent of the Swiftsure line of propellers and barges in New York and later with his father-in-law in Philadelphia, retiring from active business in 1885. He became a member of the

New York Lyceum of Natural History 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 ...

in 1836 and befriended Dr.

Asa Gray Asa Gray (November 18, 1810 – January 30, 1888) is considered the most important American botany, botanist of the 19th century. His ''Darwiniana'' (1876) was considered an important explanation of how religion and science were not necessaril ...

. At the Lyceum he developed an interest in conchology and published several conchological articles in the Lyceum's ''

Annals Annals (, from , "year") are a concise history, historical record in which events are arranged chronology, chronologically, year by year, although the term is also used loosely for any historical record. Scope The nature of the distinction betw ...

'', as well as an article on fossil fishes.'''' He became a member of the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia as early as 1846. He removed to Philadelphia in 1861 and in 1870 was made a member of the Academy's council and conservator of its Botanical Section, where he oversaw the herbaria.'''' He made occasional botanical excursions with Gray and others. In his later years he spent summers in

Mount Desert Island Mount Desert Island (MDI; ) in Hancock County, Maine, is the largest island off the coast of Maine. With an area of it is the List of islands of the United States by area, 52nd-largest island in the United States, the sixth-largest island in th ...

, Maine, where he produced with his friend Edward L. Rand a catalogue of plants from it and neighboring islands, published in 1894 as ''Flora of Mount Desert Island, Maine.'' He died in Philadelphia in 1895 after several weeks of illness.'''' He produced over 50 scientific works,'''' as well as a genealogy of the Redfield family and an autobiography, posthumously published in 1900. The grass genus ''

Redfieldia ''Redfieldia'', known as blowout grass, is a monotypic genus in the grass family (Poaceae). The sole species, ''Redfieldia flexuosa'', is native to sandhills in the western and central United States. The plants grow in small clusters, protecting ...

'' was named in his honor, and the fossil fish '' Redfieldius'' named after him and his father. Of his children, son Robert Stuart Redfield achieved note as a photographer, becoming president of the Photographic Society of Philadelphia and a founding member of the

Photo-Secession The Photo-Secession was an early 20th century movement that promoted photography as a fine art in general and photographic pictorialism in particular. A group of photographers, led by Alfred Stieglitz and F. Holland Day in the early 20th centur ...

movement.

Books

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References

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* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Redfield, John Howard 1815 births 1895 deaths 19th-century American botanists Conchologists People from Middletown, Connecticut Scientists from Pennsylvania