Britton's Botanical Empire

The New York Botanical Garden and American Botany, 1888-1929
by Peter Mickulas

In the 1890s, botanist Nathaniel Lord Britton united New York City’s private Gilded Age wealth with the expertise of its increasingly well-respected scientific community to realize his vision of a world-class botanical research institution situated within the landscaped confines of a newly annexed Bronx park. Peter Mickulas chronicles Britton’s success in establishing The New York Botanical Garden as a decidedly American place for the practice of New World botany. He mounted a series of expeditions that catalogued the flora of the Western Hemisphere, most significantly the flora of Puerto Rico. Today, thanks to this auspicious beginning, the Botanical Garden ranks among the most important research institutions, both for New York City and the botanical world.

Author and historian Peter Mickulas, Ph.D., has written several articles about the history of gardens and botany and is Senior Research Associate for the New Jersey Historical Commission.

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