Tracy, S. M. (Samuel Mills), 1847-1920

Samuel Mills Tracy (1847-1920) was a U. S. botanist who collected plants in the United States and Cuba, circa 1887-1920. He was born in Harford, Vermont, on April 30, 1847. He fought in the Civil War for one hundred days. Afterward, he returned home and farmed for one year. He then enrolled at Michigan Agricultural College where he received his Bachelors' and Master's degrees. For some time he was involved in commercial horticulture work. In 1877, he became professor of botany at the University of Missouri. In 1887, he became the first Director of the Mississippi Experiment Station. Tracy's botanic interests centered on the taxonomy of gasses, plant breeding, and the adaptation of forage plants to the southern states. He wrote many books and articles, including "Flora of Missouri,"1886.