Richard Sumner Cowan
Richard Sumner Cowan | |
---|---|
Born | January 23, 1921 Department of Botany |
Author abbrev. (botany) | R.S.Cowan |
Richard Sumner Cowan (January 23, 1921 – November 17, 1997) was an American botanist.
Early life
Richard Sumner Cowan was born on January 23, 1921, in
tepuis. The first trip was 5 months long, beginning in October 1950. He completed his PhD in 1952 at Columbia University,[1] after which he continued to work at the Botanical Garden. Richard went back to South America to gather some species in Amapa, Brazil, and French Guiana.[2]
There was also a period of time that Richard worked at the Kew Botanical Gardens in Richmond, Kew, England prior to moving back to the USA.
Career
In May 1957, became an associate curator for the
Department of Botany at the Smithsonian Institution, where he continued his work in South America. He then became the director of the Smithsonian Institution - Natural History Museum at a later date. In 1961 he was elected to the Washington Biologists' Field Club, and in the same year got a membership to the flora and fauna committee.[2] He received several unexpected promotions while working for the Smithsonian: first, in 1962 he became an assistant director of the National Museum of Natural History, then in 1965 he became director of the museum, a position which he kept until 1972.[1]
Richard received a New York Botanical Garden Distinguished Service Award in 1968, and the same year was awarded with the Henry Allen Gleason Award from the National Agricultural Library.[2]
Retirement, marriage and death
Richard married Mary Frances Minnich in June 1941 and thereafter had a son Richard Ainesworth. Richard and Mary had a daughter Diedra Anne in September 1958 and adopted a son Charles Ian in 1961.
He retired on October 31, 1985, and headed for
mimosoids. On August 23, 1986, he married Roberta Ann Tobias, and adopted a son Michael Norman Sumner Cowan. In 1988 he was awarded the Commemorative Scroll Award from the Australian Systematic Botany Society for his work on Taxonomic Literature there. He received the Founder's Medal of the society in 1990 for the History and Bibliography of Natural History. He had a stroke in 1997, from which he recovered. After a fall, he died from the effects of brain trauma on November 17, 1997.[2]
Selected publications
- ISBN 90-313-0224-4.
References
- ^ a b "Richard Sumner Cowan Papers, circa 1952-1985". Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved 19 April 2012.
- ^ a b c d "Biography". Archived from the original on 9 August 2019.
- ^ International Plant Names Index. R.S.Cowan.