Asa Gray

Asa Gray in 1864. Gray is considered the most important American botanist of the 19th century, and was instrumental in unifying the taxonomic knowledge of the plants of North America, as well as championing his good friend Charles Darwin's theory of evolution. He was a religious man, where Darwin was not, but it was Darwin's correspondence with Gray that, when presented to to the Linnean Society in 1858 along with extracts from an essay, cemented Darwin's reputation, and consigned Alfred Russel Wallace to the sidelines of history.


Original sepia photo.