March 27, 1724

New York City

March 10, 1766

Unknown

American botanist

"[Jane Colden] is perhaps the only lady that has so perfectly studied your system. She deserves to be celebrated."

English botanist Peter Collinson to Swedish botanist Carolus Linnaeus.

Botanist Jane Colden was America's first great woman scientist. Having grown up on an estate in the New York countryside, Colden was exposed to nature at an early age. She was trained by her father, Cadwallader Colden, who was active in politics and had a strong interest in science. He began teaching his daughter about science after observing her natural inclination toward botany (a branch of biology dealing with plant life). Colden quickly mastered botany techniques as well as the system of plant classification devised by Swedish botanist Carolus Linnaeus. She soon rose to the top of the scientific community and carried on correspondences with many well-known botanists. By the...