Rock, Joseph Francis Charles, 1884-1962

Not only a botanist, plant collector, naturalist, and explorer, Joseph Rock was also a philologist, linguist, and anthropologist. Beginning in 1924 Rock explored northwest China and Tibet, collecting plant material for the Arnold Arboretum and ornithological specimens for Harvard's Museum of Comparative Zoology. On his 1924 expedition Rock collected 20,000 herbarium specimens and many packages of propagative material. Few new species were found but Rock lived up to Sargent's principal objective, which was to collect hardier forms of species that had already been collected by others farther south. From the Arboretum, Rock's seeds were distributed to principal botanical and horticultural institutions in North America and in Europe.

From the description of Papers of Joseph Francis Charles Rock, 1922-1962. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 269373156

Joseph Francis Rock (1884-1962) was a botanist who specialized in the flora of Hawaii and China. His botanical explorations also took him to several locations in Southeast Asia, and he directed many expeditions on which he collected zoological, ornithological, and botanical specimens. An Austrian by birth, Rock moved to Honolulu, Hawaii in 1907, where he became the first official botanist of Hawaii. He became a faculty member of University of Hawaii in 1911, but left in 1920 for botanical expeditions in Asia. In 1949, he finally returned to Honolulu, where he lived until he died in 1962.

Smithsonian Institution Archives Field Book Project: Person : Description : rid_15_pid_EACP14

Rock was educated at the University of Vienna, taught systematics at the College of Hawaii, and made several expeditions between 1920 and 1949 to Yunnan and other parts of Asia for various institutions. He collected plants, birds and mammal skins for his sponsors.

From the description of Botanical papers of Joseph Francis Charles Rock, 1921-1927 (inclusive). (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 269373182