Mitten, William, 1819-1906

William Mitten (1819-1906) was the premier bryologist of the second half of the 19th century. An amateur bryologist, he was one of the first to realize that the same taxa occur throughout broad geographical ranges. He classified and named thousands of specimens which came into the Royal Botanic Gardens from around the British Empire. A pharmacist in the village of Hurstpierpont, England, at the time of his death he had amassed the largest and most important private collection of bryophytes--some 50,000 specimens. The collection was purchased by the New York Botanical Garden.

From the description of William Mitten papers, 1846-1910. (New York State Historical Documents). WorldCat record id: 155462529

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