Arnold Arboretum

The planning for the Arnold Arboretum Centennial celebration began in 1967 when Dr. Richard A. Howard, Arboretum Director from 1954-1978, appointed committees of supporters and visiting-committee members to raise funds for the upcoming event. The week-long celebration (May 21-28, 1972) opened with a banquet in a downtown Boston hotel that featured an address by William T. Stearn, famous taxonomist and botanist from the British Museum of Natural History. Events included a daylong symposium on "Potential of Arboreta and Botanical Gardens," a picnic at the Case Estates in Weston, MA, a Boston Pops Dinner Concert, and an exhibit at Harvard's Houghton Library. Three public lectures included the larger community. The Arnold Arboretum also offered "reverse birthday gifts" as part of the celebration. Young katsura trees were distributed to every member of the Friends of the Arboretum. Select colleges, universities, arboreta, and botanical institutions were offered their choice of a planting of "educational value" and "horticultural interest." New England garden clubs were given large trees or shrubs for public plantings. The Centennial Celebration was followed in the local and regional New England newspapers. Participants came from 37 states, 10 countries, 69 institutions, and 46 organizations.

From the description of Records of the 1972 Arnold Arboretum Centennial, 1970-1973 (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 269373146

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