Anna Murray Vail facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Anna Murray Vail
|
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born | January 7, 1863 |
| Died | December 18, 1955 (aged 92) Vieux Logis
|
| Resting place | Héricy |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Botany Library science |
| Institutions | New York Botanical Garden |
Anna Murray Vail (born January 7, 1863 – died December 18, 1955) was an important American botanist. She was also the very first librarian at the famous New York Botanical Garden. Anna worked closely with Nathaniel Lord Britton, a botanist and geologist from Columbia University. Together, they helped create the New York Botanical Garden.
Early Life
Anna was born in New York City. Her parents were David Olyphant Vail and Cornelia Georgina Van Rensselaer. Her mother's family, the Van Rensselaers and Van Cortlandts, were very old and important Dutch families in New York. For example, her great-great-grandfather, General Robert Van Rensselaer, fought in the American Revolution.
Anna's father, David Olyphant Vail, was a merchant. He worked for a company called Olyphant & Company in Shanghai, China. This company was one of the first to trade with China. Sadly, her father passed away when Anna was very young.
Anna started her education in Europe.
Professional Activities
By 1895, Anna was back in the United States. She began working at Columbia University with Nathaniel Lord Britton. Nathaniel and his wife, Elizabeth Gertrude Britton, were the main people who started the New York Botanical Garden.
In January 1900, Anna became the first librarian of the new botanical garden's library. She held this job until September 1907. While working in New York, she wrote more than a dozen scientific papers about plants. Her notes, which are kept at the New York Botanical Garden, even include her own drawings of the plants she studied.
In 1898, a botanist named Henry Hurd Rusby named a new group of flowering plants Vailia in Anna Murray Vail's honor. This was a big recognition of her work!
In 1903, Anna traveled to Paris, France. She went to an auction to buy rare botanical books for the New York Botanical Garden. She bought over 400 items, including some very old and valuable books about plants.
Anna wrote about many different plant topics. For example, in 1898, she helped write a paper about "New or Rare Mosses."
Anna left her job at the New York Botanical Garden in 1907. A letter from Nathaniel Lord Britton explained that she left to be with her mother, who was living in France.
In 1911, Anna moved to France permanently. During World War I, she became very active in a group called the American Fund for French Wounded. This group helped injured soldiers. Anna even became the treasurer for the organization. She was very dedicated and offered to help in any way she could, even if it meant doing difficult tasks.
Later Years
While living in France, Anna bought a house in Héricy. She spent the rest of her life there. She continued her work as a librarian until she could no longer see well enough to do so.
Anna Murray Vail passed away in Vieux Logis on December 18, 1955. She is buried in the local cemetery in Héricy.
Taxonomy
See Also
In Spanish: Anna Murray Vail para niños
