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Darlingtonia californica by John Torrey
This description of a newly discovered pitcher plant essentially named the species after William Darlington. The esteemed American botanist John Torrey published this description and honored his friend Darlington in the process.
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Overview
- What were Darlington’s contributions to botany? How was the science of botany different during Darlington’s time?
- What does Darlington’s correspondence tell us about his political, botanical, or business ambitions?
- What do his letters reveal about his positions of various subjects such as slavery, education, politics, etc.?
- Is there evidence of Darlington’s legacy visible in the area today? How has the local area changed since Darlington’s time? What has remained consistent?
- How does Darlington support or challenge the notion of the “gentleman scholar”? Is his thinking more typical of the Enlightenment or the nineteenth century?
Guiding Questions
- What were Darlington’s contributions to botany? How was the science of botany different during Darlington’s time?
- What does Darlington’s correspondence tell us about his political, botanical, or business ambitions?
- What do his letters reveal about his positions of various subjects such as slavery, education, politics, etc.?
- Is there evidence of Darlington’s legacy visible in the area today? How has the local area changed since Darlington’s time? What has remained consistent?
- How does Darlington support or challenge the notion of the “gentleman scholar”? Is his thinking more typical of the Enlightenment or the nineteenth century?
Where to search
- The library catalog lists our holdings of Darlington’s own published works
- The William Darlington Collection contains many primary source materials including a large portion of his outgoing correspondence
- The Darlington Herbarium contains thousands of plant specimens collected by Darlington, and obtained from other botanists
