Rogers McVaugh (May 30, 1909 – September 24, 2009) was a research professor 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 the UNC Herbarium's curator of Mexican plants. He was also Adjunct Research Scientist of the Hunt Institute in

Carnegie Mellon University Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The institution was established in 1900 by Andrew Carnegie as the Carnegie Technical Schools. In 1912, it became the Carnegie Institu ...

and a

Professor Emeritus ''Emeritus/Emerita'' () is an honorary title granted to someone who retirement, retires from a position of distinction, most commonly an academic faculty position, but is allowed to continue using the previous title, as in "professor emeritus". ...

of botany in the

University of Michigan, Ann Arbor The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Michigan is one of th ...

Education

Born in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, Rogers McVaugh was a brilliant student. He earned the bachelor's degree with highest honors in botany from

Swarthmore College Swarthmore College ( , ) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1864, with its first classes held in 1869, Swarthmore is one of the e ...

in 1931 and a Ph.D in botany from the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

in 1935.

Career

During his career he held appointments at several universities but spent the majority of his time at the Universities of Michigan (1946 until retirement in 1979) and North Carolina. He specialised in the Compositae, Myrtaceae, Campanulaceae, woody Rosaceae, and the flora of Mexico, as well as botanical history and nomenclature. *1935-1938: Instructor then Asst. Professor, Botany, University of Georgia, Athens *1938-1946: Associate Botanist, Division of plant exploration & introduction, U.S. Department of Agriculture *1946-1951: Associate Professor, Botany, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor *1951-1974: Professor, Botany, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor *1955-1956: Program Director for Systematic Biology, National Science Foundation, 1974-1979: Harley Harris Bartlett Professor of Botany, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor *1946-1979: Curator of Vascular Plants, University of Michigan Herbarium, Ann Arbor *1972—1975: Director, University of Michigan Herbarium, Ann Arbor *1979–present: Professor Emeritus, Botany, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor *1980–present: Research Professor of Botany, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill *1981–present: Adjunct Research Scientist, Hunt Institute, Carnegie Mellon University McVaugh was an expert in the field, especially of neotropical families and collected extensively in western Mexico particularly in the 1930s and 1940s. These are held in several herbaria in the USA, particularly over 23,000 specimens in the Herbarium of the University of Michigan. Other herbaria with smaller collections include those in University of North Carolina, University of Georgia and University of California.

Publications

McVaugh published about 12 books and 200 shorter articles in history of botany, floristics and systematic botany. These included: * (2005) ''Marcus E. Jones in Mexico, 1892'' * (1956) A biography of the 19th-century naturalist Edward Palmer. * (1935) ''Recent Changes in the Composition of a Local Flora'

McVaugh's last, partially completed work was the ''Flora Novo-Galiciana,'' a multi-volume work focusing on the diverse flora of this region in western

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

Personal life

McVaugh and Ruth Beall were married in 1937. She died in 1987. They had two children, Michael Rogers McVaugh and Jenifer Beall McVaugh. McVaugh celebrated his 100th birthday in May 2009. He died on September 24, 2009.

Honors

*International Association for Plant Taxonomy: Vice-President 1969-1972, President 1972-1975 *Festschrift in Taxon, 1979 *Botanical Society of America-Merit Award, 1977 *Sociedad Botánica de Mexico- Gold Medal 1978 *New York Botanical Garden- Henry Allan Gleason award 1984, for Flora Novo-Galiciana vol. 14 (1983) *American Society of Plant Taxonomists—First Annual Asa Gray award, 1984 *University of Guadalajara, Mexico— First Luz María Villarreal de Puga Medal, 1993 *International Botanical Congress, St. Louis, USA – Millennium Medal, 1999 (one of eight worldwide) *Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. – First Cuatrecasas Medal for Excellence in Tropical Botany, 2001 *Botanical Society of America - Centennial Award, 2006 The plant genus Mcvaughia was named in his honor in 1979.https://www.lsa.umich.edu/herb/malpigh/MALPpdf/Tx28-McVaughia.pdf The genera Macvaughiella, and Chamguava are also named for him. The Jardín Botánico Rogers McVaugh public park in San Sebastián del Oeste, Jalisco, Mexico was named in his honor in 2009.

Legacy

The Rogers McVaugh Graduate Student Research Grant Fund was set up within the

American Society of Plant Taxonomists The American Society of Plant Taxonomists (ASPT) is a botany, botanical organization formed in 1935 to "foster, encourage, and promote education and research in the field of plant taxonomy, to include those areas and fields of study that contribut ...

in 2004 to provide an annual grant in plant systematics.

References

External links

Malpighiaceae/Mcvaughia
Rogers McVaugh
"in memoriam" dead link 2020 -->
University of Michigan Herbarium
{{DEFAULTSORT:McVaugh, Rogers 1909 births 2009 deaths American botanists Carnegie Mellon University faculty American men centenarians Scientists from New York City Swarthmore College Swarthmore College alumni University of Michigan faculty University of Pennsylvania alumni