Note 172 — Chapter VIII

William Bartram was born in Kingsessing, Pennsylvania, in 1739. His father was a botanist, and at the age of thirty William abandoned mercantile life and devoted himself also to that science. His studies and collections in the Carolinas, Georgia, and the Floridas, were most extensive. In 1782 he was elected professor of botany in the University of Pennsylvania, but poor health prevented his acceptance. He lived, however, until 1823, producing numerous works, and writing the description of a plant a few minutes before his death, which came suddenly from hemorrhage of the lungs. See also André Michaux’s Travels, volume iii of our series, note 177.—Ed.