U.S. #3314
33¢ John and William Bartram
Issue Date: May 18, 1999
City: Philadelphia, PA
Quantity: 145,375,000
Printed By: Banknote Corporation of America
Printing Method: Lithographed
Perforations: Serpentine die cut 11.5
Color: Multicolored
Considered the “father of American botany,” explorer and naturali... more
U.S. #3314
33¢ John and William Bartram
Issue Date: May 18, 1999
City: Philadelphia, PA
Quantity: 145,375,000
Printed By: Banknote Corporation of America
Printing Method: Lithographed
Perforations: Serpentine die cut 11.5
Color: Multicolored
Considered the “father of American botany,” explorer and naturalist John Bartram (1699-1777) established the oldest existing botanical garden in the United States. His son, William, (1739-1823) was a talented artist and author who shared his father’s love of nature.
Franklinia alatamaha is depicted on #3314. It was discovered on the banks of the Alatahama River in Georgia in 1765 by John Bartram, who was exploring the area with his son William when he spotted a "curious looking shrub" on the opposite bank. In 1767, he sent his son William back to gather seeds and leaves from the tree. This was fortuitous, because William continued to search for more specimens without success until 1791, when he finally realized that he and his father had found a completely new species, which he renamed in honor of his father's good friend Ben Franklin, who had recently died in 1790. Other researchers did find other specimens eventually, but they were not healthy and the plant was declared extinct in the wild in 1803. All the trees in existence today come from the seeds that William collected in 1767 and nurtured for many years.
Birth Of John Bartram
Botanist John Bartram was born on March 23, 1699, in Darby, Pennsylvania Colony.
Born into a Quaker farm family, Bartram had little formal education, aside from attending a small local school. From a young age, he had an interest in medicine and medicinal plants.
Bartram built his own home in 1728 and continued the family farming tradition, but he also had a small area where he grew additional plants he found interesting. Known today as Bartram’s Garden, it’s the oldest existing botanical garden in the country.
Bartram enjoyed exploring the colonies and collecting plants. He traveled throughout the eastern colonies from Canada to Florida. He also published books about his journeys and his exploits were printed in journals. Beginning in 1733, Bartram began working with British merchant Peter Collinson. Bartram shared his plants with Collinson, who in turn shared them with other British gardeners and friends.
Every fall, Bartram sent Bartram’s Boxes to Collinson, who would distribute them to his friends in England. These boxes usually contained about 100 varieties of seeds, dried plants, and other natural history artifacts. He would occasionally send live plants, but they were much more expensive and difficult to send. In return for his seeds and plants, Bartram’s British friends send him back books and tools.
Bartram had befriended Benjamin Franklin and with him, was a co-founder of the American Philosophical Society. In 1765, Collinson and Franklin convinced George III to appoint Bartram as King’s Botanist for North America. He would hold that position until his death. In this role, Bartram’s seeds and plants became part of the royal collection at Kew Gardens as well as the Oxford and Edinburg botanic gardens. In 1769, he was elected a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.
Bartram was responsible for the introduction of about 500 new plant species to England. Many of these were named by European botanists. Bartram is largely remembered for his discovery and introduction of several North American flowering trees and shrubs, including kalmia, rhododendron and magnolia species. He also introduced the Venus flytrap to cultivation and discovered the Franklin tree. Additionally, a genus of mosses is named for him – Bartramia, as well as the North American serviceberry, Amelanchier bartramiana, and the Christmas Kurrajong tree, Commersonia bartramia.
Bartram died on September 22, 1777. Carl Linnaeus called Bartram the “greatest natural botanist in the world.” He fathered 11 children during his life, one of which followed in his footsteps. His son William was an accomplished artist who made hundreds of drawings of birds. His 1791 book, Travels, greatly influenced English romanticism. William established the nation’s first nursery and published America’s first plant catalog.
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