Leonard John Brass
Encyclopedia
Leonard John Brass was an Australia
n and American botanist
, botanical collector
and explorer. He was born at Toowoomba, Queensland
. He was trained at the Queensland Herbarium
, which he collected plant specimens for from the 1930s to the 1960s, as well as participating in several international expeditions to New Guinea
, the Solomon Islands
and Africa
.
From 1939 to 1966 Brass was an associate curator of the Archbold Expedition
collections with the American Museum of Natural History
. He was associated with the Archbold Biological Station
at Lake Placid, Florida
, for which he helped to formulate the organizational structure it has today, and also where he lived between expeditions. In the course of his many expeditions to New Guinea he was a major collector of plant specimens for the Arnold Arboretum in Massachusetts
. He was especially interested in the relationship between the floras of Australia and New Guinea.
Brass was director of field operations for an expedition in 1949–50 to tropical Africa
, sponsored by the Upjohn
and Penick companies, to find precursors for the manufacture of cortisone
. Later he was an advisor to an Arnold Arboretum study to search for medical plants in the western Pacific, as well as serving on a National Science Foundation
panel regarding botanical study of the islands of the Indian Ocean
.
Brass served in the Canadian army during the Second World War
, became a naturalised citizen of the United States
in 1947 and received an honorary doctorate from Florida State University
at Tallahassee
in 1962. In Florida he was active, with Richard Archbold
, in the establishment of the Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary
in 1955. He retired from the American Museum of Natural History in 1966 and returned to Australia, where he died at Cairns, Queensland
in 1971. Brass was married to Maria Schiavone, who died in 1954.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n and American botanist
Botany
Botany, plant science, or plant biology is a branch of biology that involves the scientific study of plant life. Traditionally, botany also included the study of fungi, algae and viruses...
, botanical collector
Plant collecting
Plant collecting involves procuring live or dried plant specimens, for the purposes of research, cultivation or as a hobby.-Collection of live specimens:...
and explorer. He was born at Toowoomba, Queensland
Toowoomba, Queensland
Toowoomba is a city in Southern Queensland, Australia. It is located west of Queensland's capital city, Brisbane. With an estimated district population of 128,600, Toowoomba is Australia's second largest inland city and its largest non-capital inland city...
. He was trained at the Queensland Herbarium
Queensland Herbarium
The Queensland Herbarium is situated at the Brisbane Botanic Gardens, Mount Coot-tha, in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It is part of Queensland’s Environmental Protection Agency...
, which he collected plant specimens for from the 1930s to the 1960s, as well as participating in several international expeditions to New Guinea
New Guinea
New Guinea is the world's second largest island, after Greenland, covering a land area of 786,000 km2. Located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, it lies geographically to the east of the Malay Archipelago, with which it is sometimes included as part of a greater Indo-Australian Archipelago...
, the Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands is a sovereign state in Oceania, east of Papua New Guinea, consisting of nearly one thousand islands. It covers a land mass of . The capital, Honiara, is located on the island of Guadalcanal...
and Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
.
From 1939 to 1966 Brass was an associate curator of the Archbold Expedition
Richard Archbold
Richard Archbold was an American zoologist and philanthropist. He was independently wealthy, being the grandson of the capitalist John Dustin Archbold. He was educated at private schools and later attended classes at Columbia University though he never graduated...
collections with the American Museum of Natural History
American Museum of Natural History
The American Museum of Natural History , located on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City, United States, is one of the largest and most celebrated museums in the world...
. He was associated with the Archbold Biological Station
Archbold Biological Station
The Archbold Biological Station is a research institute with a surrounding estate near Lake Placid, Florida, USA. It includes an extensive area of Florida scrub, a scientifically interesting and highly threatened ecosystem...
at Lake Placid, Florida
Lake Placid, Florida
Lake Placid is a town in Highlands County, Florida, United States. The U.S. Census Bureau estimated the town's population as 1,878 on 1 July 2007...
, for which he helped to formulate the organizational structure it has today, and also where he lived between expeditions. In the course of his many expeditions to New Guinea he was a major collector of plant specimens for the Arnold Arboretum in Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
. He was especially interested in the relationship between the floras of Australia and New Guinea.
Brass was director of field operations for an expedition in 1949–50 to tropical Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
, sponsored by the Upjohn
Upjohn
The Upjohn Company was a pharmaceutical manufacturing firm founded in 1886 in Kalamazoo, Michigan by Dr. William E. Upjohn, an 1875 graduate of the University of Michigan medical school. The company was originally formed to make friable pills, which were specifically designed to be easily digested...
and Penick companies, to find precursors for the manufacture of cortisone
Cortisone
Cortisone is a steroid hormone. It is one of the main hormones released by the adrenal gland in response to stress. In chemical structure, it is a corticosteroid closely related to corticosterone. It is used to treat a variety of ailments and can be administered intravenously, orally,...
. Later he was an advisor to an Arnold Arboretum study to search for medical plants in the western Pacific, as well as serving on a National Science Foundation
National Science Foundation
The National Science Foundation is a United States government agency that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering. Its medical counterpart is the National Institutes of Health...
panel regarding botanical study of the islands of the Indian Ocean
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by the Indian Subcontinent and Arabian Peninsula ; on the west by eastern Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and...
.
Brass served in the Canadian army during the Second World War
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, became a naturalised citizen of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in 1947 and received an honorary doctorate from Florida State University
Florida State University
The Florida State University is a space-grant and sea-grant public university located in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a comprehensive doctoral research university with medical programs and significant research activity as determined by the Carnegie Foundation...
at Tallahassee
Tallahassee, Florida
Tallahassee is the capital of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat and only incorporated municipality in Leon County, and is the 128th largest city in the United States. Tallahassee became the capital of Florida, then the Florida Territory, in 1824. In 2010, the population recorded by...
in 1962. In Florida he was active, with Richard Archbold
Richard Archbold
Richard Archbold was an American zoologist and philanthropist. He was independently wealthy, being the grandson of the capitalist John Dustin Archbold. He was educated at private schools and later attended classes at Columbia University though he never graduated...
, in the establishment of the Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary
Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary
Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary is a National Audubon Society sanctuary located in southwest Florida, north of Naples, Florida and east of Bonita Springs, in the United States. The sanctuary was established to protect one of the largest remaining stands of Bald Cypress and Pond Cypress Corkscrew Swamp...
in 1955. He retired from the American Museum of Natural History in 1966 and returned to Australia, where he died at Cairns, Queensland
Cairns, Queensland
Cairns is a regional city in Far North Queensland, Australia, founded 1876. The city was named after William Wellington Cairns, then-current Governor of Queensland. It was formed to serve miners heading for the Hodgkinson River goldfield, but experienced a decline when an easier route was...
in 1971. Brass was married to Maria Schiavone, who died in 1954.
Expeditions
Expeditions Brass participated in include:- New Guinea (1925-1926) for the Arnold Arboretum
- Solomon Islands (1932-1933) for the Arnold Arboretum
- New Guinea (1933-1934), first Archbold New Guinea Expedition, plants going to the Arnold Arboretum
- New Guinea (1936-1937), second Archbold New Guinea Expedition, plants going to the Arnold Arboretum
- New Guinea (1938-1939), third Archbold New Guinea Expedition, plants going to the Arnold Arboretum
- NyasalandNyasalandNyasaland or the Nyasaland Protectorate, was a British protectorate located in Africa, which was established in 1907 when the former British Central Africa Protectorate changed its name. Since 1964, it has been known as Malawi....
(1946), Vernay Nyasaland Expedition, plants going to the New York Botanical GardenNew York Botanical Garden- See also :* Education in New York City* List of botanical gardens in the United States* List of museums and cultural institutions in New York City- External links :* official website** blog*... - Cape York PeninsulaCape York PeninsulaCape York Peninsula is a large remote peninsula located in Far North Queensland at the tip of the state of Queensland, Australia, the largest unspoilt wilderness in northern Australia and one of the last remaining wilderness areas on Earth...
, Australia (1948), Archbold Cape York Expedition, plants going to the Arnold Arboretum - Tropical Africa (1949-1950), Upjohn-Penick Expedition
- New Guinea (1953), fourth Archbold New Guinea Expedition, plants going to the Arnold Arboretum
- New Guinea (1956-1957), fifth Archbold New Guinea Expedition, plants going to the Rijksherbarium at Leiden, The Netherlands
- New Guinea (1959), sixth Archbold New Guinea Expedition, plants going to the US National HerbariumUnited States Botanic GardenThe United States Botanic Garden is a botanic garden on the grounds of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C., near Garfield Circle....
at Washington, DC, USA