JOHN LEONARD RIDDELL 



1 807- 1 865 

 Riddellia tagetina NUTTALL 



John Leonard Riddell, physician, author and 

 inventor, was born in Leyden, Massachusetts, in 

 1807, of fine Scotch-Irish ancestry which could 

 be traced back to the eighth century. 



He held his degrees of A. B. and A. M. from 

 the Van Rensselaer School of Troy, New York, 

 and began his career as a lecturer on scientific 

 subjects. In 1835 he was made adjunct professor 

 of chemistry and botany in the Cincinnati Medi- 

 cal College, from which he received his M. D. ; 

 and during this year, also, he published A Synop- 

 sis of the Flora of the Western States, the pioneer 

 botany of that section of the country. In 1836 

 he became professor of chemistry in the Medical 

 College of Louisiana, a distinction which he en- 

 joyed until his death in 1865. 



His catalogue of Louisiana plants secures to 

 him the discovery of several new, or unobserved 

 species, one genus being called for him Riddellia 

 (Riddellia tagetina, Nuttall). 



Professor Barnhart tells me that: 



" The manuscript, which was published in the 

 New Orleans Medical and Surgical Journal, vol. 



154 



