The Lowell family of Massachusetts is well-known for its leadership in the development of astronomy, literature, education, and commerce in the United States. However, little attention has been given to their involvement in the field of botany.
Many of the Lowells in fact maintained strong interests in this field and made important contributions to the study and promotion of botany.
The "Old Judge" and John "The Rebel" Lowell - Leaders of Botanical Organizations in Massachusetts
John Lowell, "The Old Judge", lived from 1743-1802. In addition to helping found the American Academy of Arts & Sciences, he also was an original member of the Massachusetts Society for Promoting Agriculture. He served as its second president from 1796 until his death in 1802.
John's oldest son, John "The Rebel" (1769-1840) was a member of the Agricultural Society and from 1816 until 1830 was the society's corresponding secretary. He also was an editor of its publication, The Massachusetts Agricultural Repository and Journal. In addition to his editing duties, he also wrote many articles for this publication.
John "The Rebel" also helped found the Botanic Garden of Harvard College in 1807 and was an original member (in 1829) of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society, the oldest formal horticultural institution in the U.S. His passion for horticulture led to his nickname among family and friends as "The Norfolk Farmer".
John Amory Lowell's Interest in Botany
John Amory Lowell (1798-1881) was the second child of John "The Rebel". After working for 30 years as a businessman in the textile and manufacturing fields, he redirected his energies in 1845 to the accumulation of a herbarium and botanical library.
He hoped to retire from business and devote his time to botanical studies, but due to financial troubles he had to give up this passion and return to business. He gave most of his valuable publications to friend Asa Gray. This collection later became an important component of the Gray Herbarium library.
The remainder of John Amory's botanical books, along with his herbarium, went to the Boston Society of Natural History.
Percival Lowell Pursues Botanical Studies
One of John Amory's grandchildren was Percival Lowell (1855-1916), who became famous for his contributions to the study of astronomy. After establishing his astronomical observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona in 1896, Lowell traveled widely around northern Arizona, observing the geology, topography and botany.
Percival soon struck up regular correspondence with Charles Sprague Sargent (1841-1927), the long-time director of Harvard's Arnold Arboretum (one of Sargent's daughters later married Guy Lowell, Percival's third cousin.)
In Oak Creek Canyon, near Flagstaff, Percival collected many plant samples and sent them to Sargent. Several of the samples represented species previously unknown to exist in northern Arizona. Percival also discovered a new species of ash that Sprague named in his honor in 1917 - Fraxinus lowellii (generally regarded today as a variety of Fraxinus anomala).
Among his dozens of publications, most about astronomy, Percival authored one botanical paper, The Plateau of the San Francisco Peaks in its Effect on Tree Life. It appeared in the Bulletin of the American Geographic Society in 1900 and dealt with the distribution of trees in altitude-based life zones.
References
Sargent, C.S. 1917. Botanical Activities of Percival Lowell. Rhodera.
Kevin Schindler - I have worked at scientific institutions for more than 20 years written more than 200 articles about science, history, and baseball.
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