Dr. William Marbury Carpenter (25 June 1811,

Feliciana Parish, Louisiana Feliciana Parish, or New Feliciana, French: Paroisse de Félicianne, was a parish (administrative division), parish of the Territory of Orleans and the U.S. state, state of Louisiana, formed in 1810 from West Florida territory. Given an increas ...

– 4 October 1848), a noted Southern

natural scientist Natural science or empirical science is one of the branches of science concerned with the description, understanding and prediction of natural phenomena, based on empirical evidence from observation and experimentation. Mechanisms such as peer ...

Education

He was educated through private tutoring and attended the U.S. Military Academy, in

West Point, New York West Point is the oldest continuously occupied military post in the United States. Located on the Hudson River in New York (state), New York, General George Washington stationed his headquarters in West Point in the summer and fall of 1779 durin ...

(Class of 1833), but resigned his appointment due to ill health.Conrad, pp. 153-154. He then studied medicine at the Medical College of Louisiana, graduating a

Doctor of Medicine A Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated MD, from the Latin language, Latin ) is a medical degree, the meaning of which varies between different jurisdictions. In the United States, and some other countries, the ''MD'' denotes a professional degree of ph ...

in 1836.

Physician and Naturalist

He went into medical practice at

Jackson Jackson may refer to: Places Australia * Jackson, Queensland, a town in the Maranoa Region * Jackson North, Queensland, a locality in the Maranoa Region * Jackson South, Queensland, a locality in the Maranoa Region * Jackson oil field in Durham, ...

, East Feliciana Parish,

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

and continued to pursue an interest in the

natural science Natural science or empirical science is one of the branches of science concerned with the description, understanding and prediction of natural phenomena, based on empirical evidence from observation and experimentation. Mechanisms such as peer ...

s. In 1838, he published a study of a submerged forest he discovered near Port Hudson, East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana. In 1842, he was a professor of "

materia medica ''Materia medica'' ( lit.: 'medical material/substance') is a Latin term from the history of pharmacy for the body of collected knowledge about the therapeutic properties of any substance used for healing (i.e., medications). The term derives f ...

" at the University of Louisiana, where he was appointed dean in 1845. In 1844, he published a study on the habit of dirt eating among

Negro In the English language, the term ''negro'' (or sometimes ''negress'' for a female) is a term historically used to refer to people of Black people, Black African heritage. The term ''negro'' means the color black in Spanish and Portuguese (from ...

slaves Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...

, and he published several other significant studies. He was a leading proponent of research into disease transportability and transmission as related to importation of disease and outbreak of

epidemic An epidemic (from Greek ἐπί ''epi'' "upon or above" and δῆμος ''demos'' "people") is the rapid spread of disease to a large number of hosts in a given population within a short period of time. For example, in meningococcal infection ...

s. He joined the faculty of the Medical College of Louisiana as 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

Geology Geology (). is a branch of natural science concerned with the Earth and other astronomical objects, the rocks of which they are composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Earth ...

, and from 1845-1846 he was Dean of the Tulane University School of Medicine. From 1846 through 1848, he was editor of the ''New Orleans Medical and Surgical Journal''. In early 1846, he met Sir Charles Lyell, who said of him: "His knowledge of botany and geology, as well as his amiable manners, made him a most useful and agreeable companion". His botanical collections were published posthumously and several plants were named in his honor, including the rare flowering California Bush Anemone, '' Carpenteria californica'', which was "named in honour of Professor William M. Carpenter (1811-48), a

physician A physician, medical practitioner (British English), medical doctor, or simply doctor is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through the Medical education, study, Med ...

from Louisiana, by its discoverer, Major General John Charles Fremont, who collected it on one of his four journeys of exploration in the extreme west of the United States between 1842 and 1848." Carpenter's Groundcherry ('' Physalis carpenteri'' Riddell, 1853 ''ex'' Rydberg, 1896), a plant in the

nightshade Solanaceae (), commonly known as the nightshades, is a family of flowering plants in the order Solanales. It contains approximately 2,700 species, several of which are used as agricultural crops, medicinal plants, and ornamental plants. Many me ...

family indigenous to Louisiana, and Carpenter's

Oak An oak is a hardwood tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' of the beech family. They have spirally arranged leaves, often with lobed edges, and a nut called an acorn, borne within a cup. The genus is widely distributed in the Northern Hemisp ...

, ''Quercus carpenteri'' Riddell, 1853, also indigenous to Louisiana, were named in his honor by fellow

naturalist 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 ...

John Leonard Riddell.

Personal

William Marbury Carpenter was descended from the New England

Rehoboth Carpenter family The Rehoboth Carpenter family is an American family that helped settle the town of Rehoboth, Massachusetts in 1644. Note: This book has been reprinted and duplicated by many organizations in print, CD, DVD, & digital formats. This 900-plus page to ...

.Terry L. Carpenter. 1984. "Richard Carpenter, Pioneer Merchant of British West Florida and the Natchez District of Spanish West Florida" in ''The National Genealogical Society Quarterly'', Vol. 72, No. 1, March 1984, pp. 51-62. He married first on November 21, 1837 in

East Feliciana Parish, Louisiana East Feliciana Parish (, ) is a List of parishes in Louisiana, parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 19,531. The parish seat is Clinton, Louisiana, Clinton. Established ...

to Matilda King, who was born in St. Landry Parish, Louisiana in 1818 and died in 1848, eldest child of Valentine and Nancy (King) King, and second to Eliza King, who was born in 1826 and died in 1863, sister of Matilda. By his first wife, Dr. Carpenter had four children.

Notes and references

{{DEFAULTSORT:Carpenter, William Marbury American naturalists 1811 births 1848 deaths United States Military Academy alumni Tulane University alumni Physicians from Louisiana