Asa Gray by Vathana

American Botanist, Asa Gray was born on November 18, 1810 in Sauquoit, New York. His interest in Botany began in the spring of 1827 when he started to collect and identify plants. He received his master's degree for doctor of medicine in the year 1831 at Fairfield College and later established a medical practice in Bridgewater, New York. His career continued on as a college professor of botany at University of Michigan and a professor of natural history at Harvard in the year 1842. Asa Gray was able to create the first herbarium and the first botanical library at Harvard University. He also rearranged and expanded the garden for botanical research purposes. The herbarium soon became the best in America and the entire botanical department of Harvard University became most valuable thanks to the contributions of Asa Gray. He retired from his teaching career in the year 1873. Asa Gray published many books on his botanical studies and essays on evolutionary theory. Some of his more recognized books include Manual of the Botany of the Northern United States, Flora of North America, and Darwiniana. A vast majority of Asa Gray's life was devoted to the studies of the Flora in North America. He often traveled around the United States and Europe to further advance his research. Asa Gray was one of the first supporters of Darwin's theory of natural selection. He played a major role in introducing Darwin's theory to the United States by using his studies of Botany to explore and support it. Asa Gray generally reviewed European Scientific works, becoming a small link between European and American botanical science studies.
Asa Gray passed away on January 30,1888. Yet all of his life's work still continued to contribute to the research and education in botanical science.

Bibliography

M., Alexis. "Asa Gray." Perry's Perennial Pages. 18 October 2007. .

"Asa Gray." Love to Know 1911. 1 September 2006. 18 October 2007. .

"Asa Gray (1810-1888) Papers." Harvard University Herbaria. 18 October 2007. .