Thomas Barbour Lathrop was an American philanthropist

Philanthropist

A philanthropist is someone who engages in philanthropy; that is, someone who donates his or her time, money, and/or reputation to charitable causes...

 and world traveler. He was born in Alexandria, Virginia

Alexandria, Virginia

Alexandria is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of 2009, the city had a total population of 139,966. Located along the Western bank of the Potomac River, Alexandria is approximately six miles south of downtown Washington, D.C.Like the rest of northern Virginia, as well as...

.

Lathrop was a grandson of Governor

Governor

A governor is a governing official, usually the executive of a non-sovereign level of government, ranking under the head of state...

 James Barbour

James Barbour

James Barbour was an American lawyer, amember and speaker of the Virginia House of Delegates, the 18th Governor of Virginia, the first Governor to reside in the current Virginia Governor's Mansion, a U.S. Senator from 1814–1825, and the United States Secretary of War from 1825-1828.Barbour was a...

 of Virginia. He studied at the University of Bonn

University of Bonn

The University of Bonn is a public research university located in Bonn, Germany. Founded in its present form in 1818, as the linear successor of earlier academic institutions, the University of Bonn is today one of the leading universities in Germany. The University of Bonn offers a large number...

 and Harvard University

Harvard University

Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...

. Around 1890, he inherited a sizable fortune from his father.

As a young man, he had been a reporter for the newspaper San Francisco Morning Call. Although he spent much of his time traveling, Lathrop considered the Bohemian Club

Bohemian Club

The Bohemian Club is a private men's club in San Francisco, California, United States.Its clubhouse is located at 624 Taylor Street in San Francisco...

 in San Francisco his home for the rest of his life.

After he became wealthy, Lathrop traveled around the world many times. In the 1890s, Lathrop met a young biologist

Biologist

A biologist is a scientist devoted to and producing results in biology through the study of life. Typically biologists study organisms and their relationship to their environment. Biologists involved in basic research attempt to discover underlying mechanisms that govern how organisms work...

 named David Fairchild

David Fairchild

David Grandison Fairchild was an American botanist and plant explorer. Fairchild was responsible for the introduction of more than 200,000 exotic plants and varieties of established crops into the United States, including soybeans, pistachios, mangos, nectarines, dates, bamboos, and flowering...

 who he persuaded to become a plant explorer. He financed Fairchild and accompanied him on some of his early travels. Lathrop's travels with Fairchild are described in detail the Fairchild and Douglas books.

See related

• Marjory Stoneman Douglas. Adventures in a Green World: the Story of David Fairchild and Barbour Lathrop. (Coconut Grove, FL: Field Research Projects, 1973) [That book contains an introduction by his nephew, Henry Field.]

• David Fairchild. The World Was my Garden: Travels of a Plant Explorer. (New York: C. Scribner's Sons, 1938)

• "Barbour Lathrop" (obit). New York Times (May 18, 1927). Page 25.

• "Barbour Lathrop, Capitalist, Leaves $1,750,000 Estate." Chicago Daily Tribune (October 9, 1927). Page 4.