Theo Holm

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Herman Theodor Holm (February 3, 1854 - December 26, 1932) was a Danish-American systematic botanist, agriculturalist and plant pathologist. His works dealt principally with plants from the Arctic and from the Rocky Mountains, mainly taxonomy and morphology. He published over 150 papers reflecting his research which included his series Studies on the Cyperaceae and Medicinal Plants of North America. [1] [2]

Contents

Biography

Herman Theodor Holm was born in Copenhagen, Denmark. He studied botany at the University of Copenhagen under professor Eugenius Warming and graduated 1880. In 1882–1883, he participated in the expedition on board the Danish vessel Dijmphna ( the Dijmphna expedition 1882-83) to the territory between Russia and the North Pole during the First International Polar Year. The ship was icebound for a period in the Kara Sea. [3] [4] He also explored the flora of West Greenland as assistant to Eugenius Warming on the Fylla expedition in 1884. [5]

He emigrated to the U.S., landing in New York City on April 12, 1888. He soon was employed as assistant botanist by the U.S. National Museum. In 1893 when he received American citizenship. From 1893 to 1897, he was assistant pathologist with the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). He obtained his Ph.D. in botany from the Catholic University of America in Washington D.C. in 1902. He then moved to the countryside of Brookland, DC and later in Clinton, Maryland and did assistant work as a botanist for the Smithsonian Institution and the USDA. Although a Lutheran, in 1932 he joined the faculty of the Catholic University of America, but died soon after. [6]

Honors

The small-reed species Calamagrostis holmii Lange is named for him.

Selected scientific works

Note

The standard author abbreviation Holm is used to indicate this person as the author when citing a botanical name. [7]

Sources

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References

  1. "Holm, Herman Theodor". The International Who's Who in the World. 1912. p. 608.
  2. "Holm, Herman Theodor (1854-1932)". JSTOR Global Plants. JSTOR   000003716.{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  3. "First International Polar Year". NOAA Arctic Research Office. Retrieved December 25, 2015.
  4. Steen Hougs. "Dijmphna-expeditionen 1882-83". PBase. Retrieved December 25, 2015.
  5. Ryder, C. H. (1895–1925). Den Østgrønlandske Expedition udført i Aarene 1891-92 under Ledelse af C. Ryder, vol. 1-3. Meddelelser om Grønland (in Danish). Vol. 17–19.
  6. "Theo. Holm". Dansk Biografisk Leksikon. Retrieved December 25, 2015.
  7. International Plant Names Index.   Holm.