Daniel T. MacDougal | |
|---|---|
 Dr. Daniel Trembly MacDougal, botanist, plant biologist at the New York Botanical Garden. | |
| Born | (1865-03-16)March 16, 1865 Liberty, Indiana, US |
| Died | 22 February 1958(1958-02-22) (aged 93) |
| Alma mater | DePauw University,Purdue University |
| Spouse | Louise Fisher |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Botanist, writer,plant biologist |
| Institutions | Carnegie Institution of Washington |
Dr. Daniel Trembly MacDougal (March 16, 1865 – February 22, 1958) was an Americanbotanist and writer.[1] He is known for his work on desert ecology and as the earliest botanist to researchChlorophyll. He was the inventor of theMacDougal dendrograph, used to record changes in the volumes of tree trunks. He was a pioneer in studying the idea ofMutation Theory for controlling evolution. He helped to establish two botanical laboratories, the Desert Laboratory inTucson, Arizona, and the Coastal Laboratory inCarmel-by-the-Sea, California.
MacDougal was born on March 16, 1865, inLiberty, Indiana. His father was Alexander MacDougal (1832–1912) and his mother was Amanda Malvina Showalter (1834–1923). He married Louise Fisher on January 24, 1893. They had only one child during their marriage.[2][3]
In 1894 he received his Master of Science fromDePauw University. He received his Doctor of Philosophy fromPurdue University. He subsequently held posts as apost doctoral studies at the universities ofLeipzig andTübingen, Germany.[2][3][4]
MacDougal was employed by theUnited States Department of Agriculture to collect specimens inArizona andIdaho during the summers of 1891 and 1892. He taughtplant physiology at theUniversity of Minnesota between 1893 and 1899. He was a member of the Tropical Plant Commission.[3][4]
In 1904 he was promoted to Assistant Director. Here he began his experiments to prove theMutation Theory, a theory stating that the evolution is a process of mutations that generate new species.[2][4]
He attended the lectures, in United States, by DutchbotanistHugo de Vries on Mutation Theory. In 1905 he helped publishedHugo de Vries's lectures into a bookSpecies and Varieties: Their Origin by Mutation.[2][5]
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MacDougal was seen as an expert ondesert ecology. He was one of the first botanists to researchChlorophyll. In 1905 he was involved in the establishment of the Plant Desert Laboratory inTucson, Arizona, where he continued his experiments for several years with breeding studies on theOenothera (evening primrose). He became its first director.[2]
In 1906 he became Director ofBotanical Research at the Carnegie. He remained associated with this research institute until his retirement in 1933. At Carnegie, he made a contribution to plant ecology in 1918 with the invention of an auxographic instrument, theMacDougal dendrograph, an instrument for measuring the changes in the volumes of tree trunks. His dendrograph was used in theForestry industry for studying tree growth.[2][4]
In 1909, MacDougal established the Coastal Laboratory at theOutlands in the Eighty Acres inCarmel-by-the-Sea, California, where he conducted research on the Monterey pine (Pinus radiata).[4] At Carnegie, he wrote publications on the studies of tree growth and theirhydrostatic systems. His bookGrowth in Trees was published in 1921 and encompasses 18 years of research inArizona, California,Idaho, Mexico and theLibyan Desert. It was one of the first books to include information about the growth of trees across North America.[2]
MacDougal studied the vegetation at theSalton Sea, a basin flooded with water from theColorado River. In 1914, he wrote the bookThe Salton Sea: A Study of the Geography, the Geology, the Floristics, and the Ecology of the Desert Basin.[2]
MacDougal received multiple honors in his lifetime. He was a member of several scientific organizations, including theKoninklijke Hollandsche Maatschappij der Wetenschappen and theAmerican Academy of Arts and Sciences. He was an honorary member of theAmerican Academy of Arts and Sciences and theBotanical Society of Scotland.[4]
In 1956 he received a career award from theBotanical Society of America. He received honorary degrees from DePauw University in 1912 and theUniversity of Arizona in 1915. In 1950 he was the honorary president of theInternational Botanical Congress in Stockholm. In 1956 he was awarded theNew York Botanical Garden's first Certificate of Distinguished Service.[4]
MacDougal died on February 22, 1958, inPacific Grove, California, at the age of 92. Funeral services were held in the Little Chapel-by-the-Sea Crematorium in Pacific Grove. Inurnment was at St. Paul's Cemetery,Yakima, Washington.[4][6]
