John Gill ("J.G.") Lemmon (January 2, 1832,Lima Township, Michigan – November 24, 1908,Oakland, California) was an Americanbotanist andCivil War veteran and former prisoner ofAndersonville. He was married to fellow botanist,Sara Plummer Lemmon, and the two jointly cataloged numerous western and desert plants.
Lemmon was born inLima Township, Michigan, on January 2, 1832[1][2] to William Lemmon and Amila (Hudson) Lemmon, a descendant of explorerHenry Hudson.[2]
He was a schoolteacher for eight years, before attending theUniversity of Michigan. He enlisted in the Union Army in June 1862, and was involved in numerous engagements in theAmerican Civil War.[1] In August 1864, Lemmon was captured by the Confederates,[2] and subsequently held as a prisoner of war in theFlorence, South Carolina prison camp and at the notoriousAndersonville Prison.[1][3]
After being freed on March 1, 1865, he moved toSierraville, California, to stay with family while he recuperated. He returned to teaching, and acquired an interest in botany.[1] Lemmon began corresponding withHenry Bolander at theCalifornia Academy of Sciences andAsa Gray atHarvard University, as he identified more hitherto uncatalogued plants.[1] It was only botanical work that gave him solace from the horrors of Andersonville Prison. Gray named the new genusPlummera, now calledHymenoxys, in his wife's honor.[4] Eventually, he became known as "the botanist of the West".
While visitingSanta Barbara on a collecting and lecture expedition, Lemmon metSara Plummer, a transplanted East Coast artist and intellectual who had developed an interest in botany. The two corresponded for several years, marrying in 1880.[1] They took a "botanical wedding trip" to Arizona in 1881, cataloging many desert and mountain plants, and climbed to the peak of the mountain they christenedMount Lemmon, after Sara, the first European-descended woman to make that ascent.[citation needed]
On their return, they continued their botanical activities, ultimately establishing theLemmon Herbarium, now part ofUC Berkeley'sUniversity and Jepson Herbaria.[1] J.G. and Sara lived and established theirherbarium at No. 5985Telegraph Avenue.[2] From 1888 to 1892, Lemmon served as the state botanist for the California State Board of Forestry.[1]
J.G. Lemmon died November 24, 1908, aged 76, inOakland, California.[1]
The standardauthor abbreviationLemmon is used to indicate this person as the author whenciting abotanical name.[5]
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