Henry Hurd Rusby 



With the passing of Dr. Rusby, at the age of eighty-five, on 

 November 18, 1940, the Torrey Botanical Club loses its oldest 

 member. It was in 1879 that the distinguished plant collector and 

 pharmacognocist became a corresponding member of the Club. 

 At the time of his death he was an honorary life member. He is 

 survived by his wife, ]Mrs. Margaret Hanna Rusby, three daughters, 

 two brothers and a sister. 



Educated in the rural districts, botany became an interest early 

 in Hfe. In 1876 he won the prize for the best herbarium at the 

 Philadelphia Centennial. The plants were collected from his own 

 iDeloved New Jersey and were well within the range of the Torrey 

 Club. Though educated as a physician he did not practice medicine 

 but early turned to teaching and became a professor of botany and 

 materia medica and later was dean of the Columbia University 

 College of Pharmacy until his retirement in 1930. During part of 

 this time he also taught at the New York University School of 

 Medicine and at the New York Veterinary College. 



He conducted five botanical explorations to South and Central 

 America in search of economic plants, many of which were new 

 to science. He carried on extensive surveys in the study of the 

 Cinchonas. It is estimated that he collected 45,000 specimens dur- 

 ing his life time. Most of the type specimens are deposited in the 

 herbarium of the New York Botanical Garden. 



Dr. Rusby was president of the Torrey Botanical Club for sev- 

 eral years. It was but natural that Dr. Rusby should early in life 

 come in contact with Dr. N. L. Britton and together they were 

 very active in the establishment of the New York Botanical Garden. 

 For many 3'ears he was chairman of the Board of Managers and 

 Honorary Curator of the Economic Collections. 



The study of plants led to food and drug investigations that 

 lasted throughout Dr. Rusby's entire life. Working with Dr. Wiley 

 they were the real instigators in the passage of the first Food and 

 Drugs Act. After the passage of the Act Dr. Rusby served for 

 some time as pharmacognocist for the Port of New York and as 

 such established an effective control over nearly all the imports into 

 this country. 



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