Frans Nicholaas Meijer

Frans Nicholaas Meijer (1875 - 1918) was born in Amsterdam and began his career at the Amsterdam Botanical Garden aged 14. His abilities were noticed by Hugo de Vries, Professor of Botany at the University of Amsterdam, who encouraged Meijer to learn English and German, and begin studies in Botany at the University of Groningen.

Aged 22, Meijer left the Netherlands for England, and eventually emigrated to the USA in 1901 where he gained a position with the USDA. In 1908 he anglicized his name to Frank Nicholas Meyer. After a successful plant collecting expedition to Mexico in 1902, Meijer was charged with making similar expeditions to China. His fourth and last expedition was to Ichang; on his return to Shanghai aboard a boat bound for Hangou he fell into the Yangtze River under mysterious circumstances and drowned. His body was later recovered from the river and interred in Shanghai.

Meijer was responsible for the introduction of numerous plant species to the USA, notably the Siberian Elm "Ulmus pumila". In recognition of his industry, the Frank N. Meyer Medal for Plant Genetic Resources was struck by his USDA colleagues, funded by his bequest to the organization Arnold Arboretum. Explorers: Frank Nicholas Meyer. "Botanical and Cultural Images, 1907-1927". [http://www.arboretum.harvard.edu/programs/eastern_asia/explorers_meyer2.html] ]

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