Wille, Johann Nordal Fischer, 1858-1924

The botanist Frank Shipley Collins (1848-1920) was an authority on American algae. He spent his life in Massachusetts where he worked for the Malden Rubber Shoe Company for over three decades. Despite the fact that Collins’ formal education never extended beyond high school, he became a noted phycologist with a particular interest in New England algae. He is generally considered the foremost American algologist of his time.

Frank Shipley Collins was born in 1848 in Boston, the son of Joshua Cobb Collins and Elizabeth Ann Carter Collins. As a young boy he preferred books and the instructive stories of two aunts, who were teachers, to outdoor play. He was introduced to modern and ancient languages as well as mathematics and botany at an early age. He subsequently enrolled at a private school in Malden, and, after the death of his father, attended public schools in that town. He continued his home studies of Greek, Latin, French, mathematics, and astronomy, and at age sixteen graduated from high school. A severe case of asthma kept him from most activities, and he spent the next couple of years at home, focusing on the study of music and art. In 1873 he spent seven months in Europe, much of which he devoted to activities related to music and art.

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