Thomas Meehan
Science: Botany
Thomas Meehan was born on March 21, 1826 in England (MP4). He began learning about plants (MP4) when he was a little boy. His father taught him. When he was fifteen he made his first discovery (MP4).
He wanted to learn more about botany (MP4) so he read books. Meehan went to school at the Royal Gardens of Kew. After he graduated (MP4) he came to America. He was twenty-two years old.
He worked at several different nurseries (MP4). A nursery is a place where you grow plants. While working in the nurseries he kept studying the plants. Finally he started writing about what he had studied. His first book was called The American Handbook of Ornamental Trees.
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Calla Palustris
Credit: Public Domain
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Calla Palustris
Credit: Kurt Stüber http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
After the Civil War he helped write several magazines: Gardner's Monthly, Meehan's Monthly, and Forney's Weekly Press. The ideas Meehan had were very different from the other botanists. Meehan was a botanist at the same time Charles Darwin was doing his research on evolution (MP4) and natural selection (MP4). They disagreed for a long time. He eventually agreed with Darwin and supported his theories (MP4).
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Polypodium Incanum
Credit: Public Domain
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Polypodium Incanum
Credit: Jaknouse https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0
In 1877 Meehan became the state botanist for the state of Pennsylvania. The most important book he wrote was The Native Flowers and Ferns of the United States. He also discovered the Engelmann Canyon in the Wahsatch Mountains.
He eventually became known as the "Dean of American Horticulture"
Honors
- Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia
- American Association for the Advancement of Science
- American Philosophical Society
- Veitchian medal for distinguished services in horticulture
Read More about Thomas Meehan
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References
Lang, H. G., & Meath-Lang, B. (1995). Thomas Meehan. In A Biographical Dictionary: Deaf Persons in the Arts and Sciences (pp.252-254). Westport, CT: Greenwood Press.
Page last updated 11:35 AM, April 20, 2023