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Chronological History
1848
Wisconsin enters the Union as 30th state, and University of Wisconsin is founded.
1849
Board of Regents deem it "expedient and important" to begin the formation of
a "cabinet of natural history", initially undertaken by Mr. Horace A. Tenney,
of Madison
1849
Increase A. Lapham, of Milwaukee, donates a box of specimens for proposed "cabinet"
of University of Wisconsin and proposes "to present the University a pretty
extensive Herbarium ..about one thousand or fifteen hundred species - embracing
nearly all those heretofore found in Wisconsin, together with others from the
United States, and from Europe..".
1851
Regents establish Professorship of Chemistry and Natural History.
1865
Inventory of Cabinet of Natural History includes 3000 herbarium specimens
1876
Legislature provided funds to purchase the library and natural history collections
of the recently deceased I.A. Lapham. "In this newly purchased Lapham Cabinet
there was said to be an herbarium of 20,000 specimens."
1884
William Trelease (curator, 1881-1885) reports "The University herbarium, which
is located in the room devoted to my original work [South Hall], is based on
the Lapham herbarium estimated to contain between 10 and 12 thousand species,
which has been thoroughly poisoned and is being properly mounted as rapidly
as possible. Since it came into my charge it has been augmented by donations
. . . and by between 3 to 5 thousand specimens from Professor's Henry's herbarium
and my own."
1887-1888
Herbarium now transferred to the newly
renovated (after fire of 1884) Science Hall and is described as being chiefly
composed of the Lapham Herbarium purchased by the state and said to contain
about 8,000 species of flowering plants.
1911-1937
Curatorship of J.J. Davis, specialist in parasitic
fungi (15,000 specimens) and avid collector of Wisconsin flora.
1925-1954
Norman C. Fassett's tenure as Professor
of Botany and Curator of Herbarium (1937-1954). Total collections grew to over
380,000 specimens, including over 28,000 of Fassett's own.
1927
Levi M. Umbach's private herbarium (50,000
mtd. and 50,000+ unmtd.) purchased for $800. Collection included rich representation
of species from Lake Michigan dunes in Indiana and Illinois, habitats now almost
all expatriated.
1944-1999
John W. Thomson's tenure
as Professor of Botany (Emeritus since 1984) and Curator of the Lichen Herbarium
. Enormous growth in arctic and boreal lichen collection (115,000+), including
at least 10,100 of his own specimens, donated in 1982.
1954-1999
Hugh H Iltis, tenure as Professor
of Botany and Director of the Herbarium (Emeritus since 1993, and Acting Director
1993-1996). Extensive growth in number and diversity of specimens accessioned
into Herbarium, growing from 195,600 to over 670,000 vascular plant specimens
(including ca. 40,000 of Iltis' own numbers). Emphasis of collections expands
from concentrating on Wisconsin and upper-Midwest to include a shared emphasis
on the Neotropics.
1957
Rev. Frank C. Seymour's private herbarium (20,000 specimens) of North American
(mostly Wisconsin and eastern U.S.A.) specimens purchased.
1966
George B. van Schaack's private herbarium (2800+ specimens) donated. Herbarium
consisted mostly of New World Poaceae, either collected by Van Schaack or received
by him from other institutions.
1982
Milton College (MCW), Milton, Wisconsin, herbarium (3000+ specimens) donated.
Herbarium was assembled by S. H. Watson and T. J. Hale in the 1860's and contained
many species now rare or extinct in Wisconsin, as well as material they had
received from other institutions and collectors of that time.
1983
Herbarium relocated and centralized into new wing of Birge Hall built specifically
for Herbarium and Biology Library.
1984
A set (1057 specimens) of Martin L. Grant's Columbian collections donated by
the University of Northern Iowa. Specimens collected while Grant was member
of the 1944-45 U.S.D.A. Cinchona Mission.
1985-1986
Purchase major portion of the Langlois Herbarium (LCU) of the Catholic University
of America, 62,000+ specimens acquired and integrated into collection.
1987-1990
National Science Foundation Facilities Grant allows installation of compactor
system and purchase of 200+ new cabinets. Reorganization of collections. Establishment
of separate Bryophyte Herbarium.
1989
University of Wisconsin-Janesville (UWJ) donates herbarium (5,488 specimens).
1994
Dr. Vern McNeilus, of Knoxville, TN, donates his private herbarium (8000+ specimens)
of Cyperaceae specimens, mostly from the New World with an emphasis on North
America.
1992-1994
Implementation of electronic databases, including loan and exchanges, and begin
development of specimen database
1995
Wisconsin Legislature passes and Governor signs, statute (1995SB160) recognizing
The University of Wisconsin-Madison Herbarium as the official "Wisconsin State
Herbarium".
1996-1997
University of Wisconsin-La Crosse (UWL) donates its non-Wisconsin collections
(42000+).
1997 - 2005
Paul E Berry Direrctor
of Herbarium and Associate Professor of Botany.
1998
Checklist of the Vascular Flora of Wisconsin is published in hardcopy
and on the World Wide Web.
1999
Wisconsin Vascular Plants WWW site with photographs, distribution maps,
and other information is published.
2004
Wisconsin Botanical Information System debuts, allowing for management
of specimen data over the Internet
2008 - Present
Kenneth M. Cameron Direrctor
of Herbarium and Associate Professor of Botany.
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Last updated June 28, 2004