Lucien Marcus Underwood (October 26, 1853 – November 16, 1907) 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
mycologist
Mycology is the branch of biology concerned with the study of fungi, including their taxonomy, genetics, biochemical properties, and use by humans. Fungi can be a source of tinder, food, traditional medicine, as well as entheogens, poison, and ...
of the 19th and early 20th centuries.
Early life and career
He was born in
New Woodstock, New York. He enrolled at
Syracuse University
Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York, United States. It was established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church but has been nonsectarian since 1920 ...
in 1873 and graduated in 1877. He earned his masters in 1878
and finally and completed his PhD in 1879 under
Alexander Winchell.
During his graduate school, he taught at
Cazenovia Seminary for two years.
After a year's teaching at
Hedding College, in 1880 he was appointed professor of geology and botany in
Illinois Wesleyan University
Illinois Wesleyan University is a private liberal arts college in Bloomington, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1850, the central portion of the present campus was acquired in 1854 with the first building erected in 1856.
History
The in ...
. In 1883, he was appointed professor of geology, botany, and zoology at Syracuse.
In 1890, he accepted the Morgan Fellowship at Harvard University to study the Sullivant and Taylor collection of
hepatics.
In 1891 he became professor of botany in
De Pauw University. In 1896, after one year stint as a biology professor at
Alabama Polytechnic Institute (''Auburn''),
Underwood became a professor of botany at
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...
and joined the staff of the
New York Botanical Garden in 1907.
Works
Underwood published numerous papers in botanical journals, and was the author o
''Our Native Ferns and how to study them''(Bloomington, Ill., 1881; 4th ed., 1893), ''Descriptive Catalogue of North American
Hepaticae'' (New York, 1884) and “Hepaticae” in
Gray's ''Manual of Botany''. He also prepared the
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 ...
work ''An Illustrated Century of Fungi'' with 100 specimens (1889), and together with
Orator F. Cook the
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 ...
work ''Hepaticae Americanae'' with 160 specimens (1887–93) and ''Hepaticae Americanae'' with 200 specimens (1887–99).
[Triebel, D. & Scholz, P. 2001–2024 ''IndExs – Index of Exsiccatae''. – Botanische Staatssammlung München: http://indexs.botanischestaatssammlung.de. – München, Germany.]
Underwood's papers are maintained at the
LuEsther T. Mertz Library of the
New York Botanical Garden.
Personal life
After losing large amounts of money on Wall Street in the
Panic of 1907
The Panic of 1907, also known as the 1907 Bankers' Panic or Knickerbocker Crisis, was a financial crisis that took place in the United States over a three-week period starting in mid-October, when the New York Stock Exchange suddenly fell almost ...
, Underwood attempted to murder his wife and daughter before committing suicide at the family's home in
Redding, Connecticut
Redding is a New England town, town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 8,765 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The town is part of the Western Connecticut Planning Regi ...
.
See also
*
:Taxa named by Lucien Marcus Underwood
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Underwood, Lucien Marcus
1853 births
1907 deaths
1907 suicides
American mycologists
Auburn University faculty
Cazenovia College faculty
DePauw University faculty
Illinois Wesleyan University faculty
People from Madison County, New York
American pteridologists
Scientists from New York (state)
Suicides by sharp instrument in the United States
Suicides in Connecticut
Syracuse University College of Arts and Sciences alumni
Syracuse University faculty
Torrey Botanical Society members