Alexander Garden (naturalist)
Alexander Garden was a notable Scottish naturalist and physician born around 1730 in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. After completing his medical degree at the University of Aberdeen in 1753, he moved to Charleston, South Carolina, in 1754, where he built a dual reputation as both a physician and a botanist. Garden's contributions to botany included extensive correspondence with the renowned Swedish botanist Carl von Linnaeus, through which he provided valuable information on the flora of South Carolina. His observations played a significant role in the identification of new genera and species, aiding Linnaeus’s taxonomic work. Notably, Garden introduced the medicinal use of pink-root as a treatment for intestinal worms, documenting its properties and botanical details. Despite his loyalist stance during the American Revolutionary War, which led to the confiscation of his property, he was later honored as a fellow and vice president of the Royal Society in London. In recognition of his contributions, the gardenia, an Asiatic shrub, was named in his honor. Garden's work remains influential in the fields of botany and medicine.
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Alexander Garden (naturalist)
Writer
- Born: c. 1730
- Birthplace: Aberdeenshire, Scotland
- Died: April 15, 1791
- Place of death: London, England
Biography
Alexander Garden was born in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, around 1730. He was educated at the University of Aberdeen and graduated with a degree in medicine from Marischal College, in Aberdeen, in 1753. He traveled to the United States and established a medical practice in Charleston, South Carolina, in 1754. While in Charleston, Garden established a reputation as a physician and a botanist. Garden was offered a professorship at the newly established King’s College, now known as Columbia University, but he returned to South Carolina to live and continue his botanical studies.
During the Revolutionary War, Garden was a steadfast loyalist. He congratulated General Cornwallis on his success in the battle at Camden in 1780. However, Garden’s loyalist tendencies resulted in the confiscation of his property in Charleston. In 1783, Garden traveled to London because he was elected as a fellow of the Royal Society. On his arrival in London, Garden was appointed as council to the Royal Society, and served as one of the society’s vice presidents.
In 1755, Garden began to correspond with the famous Swedish botanist, Carl von Linne (Linnaeus). Through John Ellis, a friend and correspondent of Linnaeus, Garden supplied Linnaeus with information on the flora of South Carolina. However, Garden was frustrated by Linnaeus’s seeming lack of attention to his observations.
Garden introduced the use of pink-root as a vermifuge, a medication which eliminated worms and parasites from the intestine, and published an account of the root’s medicinal properties, as well as its botanical description. He wrote numerous articles about the flora and fauna of South Carolina, and his detailed descriptions of these North American plants and animals contributed to the identification of new genera and species for Linnaeus’s taxonomic classifications. In honor of Garden’s efforts, John Ellis proposed that a new genus be named for Garden. Although it is an Asiatic shrub, the gardenia was named for Alexander Garden.