Stephen Elliott (botanist)
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Stephen Elliott (November 11, 1771 – March 28, 1830) was an American
legislator A legislator, or lawmaker, is a person who writes and passes laws, especially someone who is a member of a legislature. Legislators are often elected by the people, but they can be appointed, or hereditary. Legislatures may be supra-nat ...
,
banker A bank is a financial institution that accepts Deposit account, deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital m ...
,
educator A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. w ...
, and
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 ...
who is today remembered for having written one of the most important works in American
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 ...
, ''A Sketch of the Botany of South-Carolina and Georgia''."Stephen Elliott (1771-1830) Papers" In: Archives of the Gray Herbarium. In: The Harvard University Herbaria. (see External links below). The plant genus '' Elliottia'' is named after him.


Life

Stephen Elliott was born in
Beaufort, South Carolina Beaufort ( , different from that of Beaufort, North Carolina) is a city in Beaufort County, South Carolina, United States, and its county seat. Chartered in 1711, it is the second-oldest city in South Carolina, behind Charleston, South Carolina ...
, on November 11, 1771. He grew up there, then moved to
New Haven, Connecticut New Haven is a city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound. With a population of 135,081 as determined by the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, New Haven is List ...
, to attend
Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...
. He graduated in 1791 as the
valedictorian Valedictorian is an academic title for the class rank, highest-performing student of a graduation, graduating class of an academic institution in the United States. The valedictorian is generally determined by an academic institution's grade poin ...
of his class. From Yale, he returned to
South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...
to work the
plantation Plantations are farms specializing in cash crops, usually mainly planting a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. Plantations, centered on a plantation house, grow crops including cotton, cannabis, tob ...
that he had inherited. He was elected to the legislature in South Carolina in 1793 or 1796 (sources disagree) and served until about 1800.Biography of Stephen Elliott
In

In
The Harvard University Herbaria
/ref> He then left the legislature and devoted himself to the management of his plantation. He was re-elected to the legislature in 1808 and worked to have a bank established by the state. When the bank was founded in 1812, he resigned from the legislature and was appointed president of what was then called the "Bank of the State of South Carolina", a position that he held for the rest of his life. His leisure was devoted to literature and science, and he cultivated the study 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 ...
with enthusiasm. Elliott was elected a Fellow of the
American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (The Academy) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and other ...
in 1808. In 1813 he was instrumental in founding the Literary and Philosophical Society of South Carolina, of which he was president. He gave free lectures on botany, and was for some time editor of the ''Southern Review''. In 1825 he aided in establishing the Medical College of South Carolina, and was elected professor of
natural history Natural history is a domain of inquiry involving organisms, including animals, fungi, and plants, in their natural environment, leaning more towards observational than experimental methods of study. A person who studies natural history is cal ...
and botany, which he taught until his death in 1830. Elliott engaged in a long and active correspondence with many of the botanists of his time, but wrote an especially large number of letters to
Henry Muhlenberg Henry Melchior Muhlenberg (born Heinrich Melchior Mühlenberg; September 6, 1711 – October 7, 1787), was a Holy Roman Empire, German-born Lutheran clergyman and missionary. Born in Einbeck, Muhlenberg immigrated to the Province of Pennsylv ...
of
Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...
. The material that Elliott collected on numerous
field trip A field trip or excursion is a journey by a group of associated peers, such as coworkers or school students, to a place away from their normal environment for the purpose of education or leisure, either within their country or abroad. When ar ...
s and his intimate knowledge of the southeastern flora was of great value to botanists elsewhere. Elliott's
herbarium A herbarium (plural: herbaria) is a collection of preserved plant biological specimen, specimens and associated data used for scientific study. The specimens may be whole plants or plant parts; these will usually be in dried form mounted on a sh ...
was one of the largest in America during his lifetime. Its specimens proved invaluable to
John Torrey John Torrey (August 15, 1796 – March 10, 1873) was an American botany, botanist, chemist, and physician. Throughout much of his career, he was a teacher of chemistry, often at multiple universities, while he also pursued botanical work, focus ...
,
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 ...
, and others. The herbarium is preserved at the
Charleston Museum The Charleston Museum is a museum located in the Wraggborough neighborhood in Charleston, South Carolina. Established in 1773, it is the oldest museum in the United States. Its collection includes historic artifacts, natural history, decorative ...
. The US Federal census of 1830 records that both Elliott and his wife had extensive slaveholdings across the South Carolina and Georgia Lowcountry, enslaving 287 people in total. He died in
Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the List of municipalities in South Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint of South Carolina's coastline on Charleston Harbor, an inlet of the Atla ...
March 28, 1830. His son
Stephen Stephen or Steven is an English given name, first name. It is particularly significant to Christianity, Christians, as it belonged to Saint Stephen ( ), an early disciple and deacon who, according to the Book of Acts, was stoned to death; he is w ...
grew up to become a Protestant Episcopal bishop.


''A Sketch of the Botany of South Carolina and Georgia''

His
classic A classic is an outstanding example of a particular style; something of Masterpiece, lasting worth or with a timeless quality; of the first or Literary merit, highest quality, class, or rank – something that Exemplification, exemplifies its ...
work, ''A Sketch of the Botany of South-Carolina and Georgia'' contained the first botanical descriptions of many
species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...
. It was these descriptions which validated many of the names published as
nomina nuda Nomen may refer to: *Nomen gentilicium, the middle part of Ancient Roman names ** ''Nomen est omen'', a Latin quote about nominative determinism *Nomen (ancient Egypt), the personal name of Ancient Egyptian pharaohs *Jaume Nomen (born 1960), Catal ...
by Henry Muhlenberg. Initially published in several installments from 1816 to 1824, these were later combined into two volumes: volume I in 1821 and volume II in 1824. These dates were dates of last installment, not dates of original publication.Joseph Ewan. "Editors Introduction" In: 1971 reprint of ''A Sketch of the Botany of South-Carolina and Georgia'' In ''Classica Botanica Americana'' (series). Hafner Publishing Company: New York. 1971. It was prepared with the assistance of James McBride. In 1900, ''
Science Science is a systematic discipline that builds and organises knowledge in the form of testable hypotheses and predictions about the universe. Modern science is typically divided into twoor threemajor branches: the natural sciences, which stu ...
'' described him as "the father of southern botany." In 1901, Frank Lamson-Scribner wrote the following about Elliott's ''Sketch'':
Not until one has prepared a book where almost every line contains a statement of fact learned from original observation can he fully appreciate the amount of patience and labor involved in the preparation of such a work as the ''Sketch of the Botany of South Carolina and Georgia''...today it remains indispensable to the working systematic botanists of our country.Joseph Ewan. "Editors Introduction" In: 1971 reprint of ''A Sketch of the Botany of South-Carolina and Georgia'' In ''Classica Botanica Americana'' (series). Hafner Publishing Company: New York. 1971. page V


Other published works

* Elliott, S. 1818. Observations on the genus Glycine, and some of its kindred genera. Part 1. ''Journal of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia'' 1(7), 320–326. (Read June 23, 1818)
BHL link
* Elliott, S. 1818. Observations on the genus Glycine, and some of its kindred genera. Part 2. ''Journal of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia'' 1(7), 371–373. (Read June 23, 1818)
BHL link


See also

* :Taxa named by Stephen Elliott


References


External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Elliott, Stephen 1771 births 1830 deaths American botanists American people of Scottish descent Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Members of the South Carolina General Assembly People from Beaufort, South Carolina Yale University alumni