William Dunlop Brackenridge

Summary

• William Dunlop Brackenridge (1810-1893), pictured as a young man, was a gardener and nurseryman from Scotland who came to the United States in 1837. In 1836 by an act of Congress the United States Exploring Expedition, also known as the Wilkes Expedition, was authorized as A SURVEYING AND EXPLORING EXPEDITION TO THE PACIFIC OCEAN AND SOUTH SEAS. Its commander was Lieutenant Charles Wilkes of the United States Navy.
• It was prompted by a desire to obtain information concerning an area which was rapidly becoming of interest to American traders and whalers. A contingent of scientists accompanied the expedition, including Charles Pickering, Titian Ramsay Peale, Joseph P. Couthouy, James Dwight Dana, William Rich, William Dunlop Brackenridge, and Horatio Hale. When the expedition returned in 1842, Brackenridge was entrusted with the care of the living plants and also with the report on ferns collected by the expedition. In 1855 he moved to the Baltimore area and spent the rest of his life there as a nurseryman and landscape architect.

Subject

• Brackenridge, William D (William Dunlop) 1810-1893
• United States Exploring Expedition (USEE)

Category

Historic Images of the Smithsonian

Contained within

Smithsonian Institution Archives, Record Unit 7189, Box 1, Folder 1

Contact information

Institutional History Division, Smithsonian Institution Archives, 600 Maryland Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20024-2520, SIHistory@si.edu

Date

c. 1830s

Restrictions & Rights

No restrictions

Topic

• Plant specialists
• Scientific expeditions
• Botany
• Expeditions
• Botanists

ID Number

2005-1378

Physical description

Number of Images: 1; Color: Black and white; Size: 8w x 10h; Type of Image: Portrait; Medium: Photographic print

Full Record

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