Thomas Harper Goodspeed (17 May 1887 Hartford, Connecticut - 17 May 1966 Calistoga California) was a botanist specializing in the genetics of species ''

Nicotiana ''Nicotiana'' () is a genus of herbaceous plants and shrubs in the Family (biology), family Solanaceae, that is Native plant, indigenous to the Americas, Australia, Southwestern Africa and the South Pacific. Various ''Nicotiana'' species, common ...

''. He was the director of the

University of California Botanical Garden The University of California Botanical Garden is a 34-acre (13.7 ha) botanical garden located on the University of California, Berkeley campus, in Strawberry Canyon. The garden is in the Berkeley Hills, inside the city boundary of Oakland, wit ...

from 1919 to 1957. Under the direction of Goodspeed and University of California

landscape architect A landscape architect is a person who is educated in the field of landscape architecture. The practice of landscape architecture includes: site analysis, site inventory, site planning, land planning, planting design, grading, storm water manage ...

, John William Gregg, the garden was moved from its location on the central campus to its current site in Strawberry Canyon in the hills above the campus. Among his doctoral advisees was the plant anatomist

Katherine Esau Katherine Esau (3 April 1898 – 4 June 1997) was a pioneering German-American botanist who studied plant anatomy and the effects of viruses. Her books ''Plant Anatomy'' (1953, 1965, 2006) and ''Anatomy of Seed Plants'' (1960, 1977) are key te ...

. As director of the UCBG, Goodspeed led several plant hunting expeditions to the

Andes The Andes ( ), Andes Mountains or Andean Mountain Range (; ) are the List of longest mountain chains on Earth, longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range ...

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

, and

Uruguay Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast, while bordering the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...

. He obtained a substantial collection of ''Nicotiana'' during these expeditions, which were then assembled at the Botanical Garden for further study. His study lead to increased understanding of the origins and diversity of tobacco species. The collection was later used to reintroduce wild disease resistance traits into domesticated species. During

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

Goodspeed, along with desert

rubber Rubber, also called India rubber, latex, Amazonian rubber, ''caucho'', or ''caoutchouc'', as initially produced, consists of polymers of the organic compound isoprene, with minor impurities of other organic compounds. Types of polyisoprene ...

expert and fellow Berkeley botanist,

Harvey Monroe Hall Harvey Monroe Hall (March 29, 1874 – March 11, 1932) was an American botanist particularly noted for his taxonomic work in the western United States. Hall was born in Lee County, Illinois, on March 29, 1874, and raised near Riverside, Californi ...

, worked for the United States' Western strategic plants surveys for native sources of rubber. His positive relations with South American countries lead to him being asked to help maintain relations with these countries during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. He spent some time in Chile helping to design the Chilean Botanical Garden. The

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

n tobacco species ''

Nicotiana goodspeedii ''Nicotiana'' () is a genus of herbaceous plants and shrubs in the family Solanaceae, that is indigenous to the Americas, Australia, Southwestern Africa and the South Pacific. Various ''Nicotiana'' species, commonly referred to as tobacco plants ...

'' H.-M. Wheeler is named after Goodspeed.

References

External links

Thomas Harper Goodspeed
at

The Bancroft Library The Bancroft Library is the primary special-collections library of the University of California, Berkeley. It was acquired from its founder, Hubert Howe Bancroft, in 1905, with the proviso that it retain the name Bancroft Library in perpetuity. ...

1887 births 1966 deaths 20th-century American botanists Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences {{US-botanist-stub