THE EARLY HISTORY OF THE 

 BOTANICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA 



Oswald Tippo'' 



Although 1956 has been designated the Golden Jubilee year for the Botanical 

 Society of America, the Society may claim, with some validity, to be at 

 least 63 years old rather than 50. The facts are that the original Botanical 

 Society of America was founded in 1893 and this original Botanical Society 

 is a direct outgrowth of the Botanical Club of the American Association for 

 the Advancement of Science. In 1906 the earlier Botanical Society of America 

 merged with the Society for Plant Morphology and Physiology (founded 

 in 1896) and with the American Mycological Society (founded in 1903) to 

 form the present Botanical Society of America. Thus, in reality, in this year 

 of 1956, we are celebrating a wedding anniversary rather than a birthday. 



With this brief outline before us, let us turn to some of the events which 

 led to the founding of the original Botanical Society and to its eventual 

 fusion with the other plant-science organizations. The botanists present at 

 the 1883 Minneapolis meetings of the American Association for the Ad- 

 vancement of Science (formally organized in 1848) formed the American 

 Botanical Club as an association of botanists who were members of the 

 A.A.A.S.^ Later, the Botanical Club became Section G of the American 

 Association. 



The original Botanical Society of America had its inception at a meeting 

 of the Botanical Club of the A.A.A.S. held in Rochester, New York, on 

 August 22, 1892.* Professor L. H. Bailey (Rodgers, 1949, p. 178-180) 



1 Dr. Tippo also deserves much credit for bringing together the collection of fifty 

 portraits of distinguished botanists that accompanies Article 2. — Editor. 



2 Address of the retiring president of the Botanical Society of America, delivered 

 at the Golden Jubilee Banquet, August 29, 1956, at Storrs, Connecticut. 



^Bot. Gaz. 8:291-295. 1883. 

 *Bot. Gaz. 17:285-290. 1892. 



