Botanist

Childhood.

Asa Gray was the oldest of eight children born to a prosperous farmer in Oneida County, New York. Gray acquired his early education at a country school nine miles from his home. At age fifteen he began college preparatory studies at the Fairfield Academy in Herkimer County, where he was first exposed to the natural sciences. He became interested in botany in particular during the winter of 1827-1828, when he happened to read an essay on the subject in an encyclopedia. His curiosity aroused, he purchased Amos Eaton's Manual of Botany and studied it enthusiastically until, finally, spring arrived. On one of his first botanical excursions after the snows melted, in April 1828, he discovered a rare and previously unidentified plant.

Professional Scientist.

Gray began a medical apprenticeship under the tutelage of Dr. John Trowbridge of Bridgewater, New York, in 1828. From 1829 to 1831 he also...