From Plant Press, Vol. 9, No. 4 from October 2006.
By Dan H. Nicolson
The recent delivery of the front office keys from W. John Kress (having served as Chair for 9 years) to Warren Wagner (who is beginning a second term as Chair) led to a question: has any chairman served longer than Kress? A difficulty is that the term "Chairman" is relatively new – a single Curator was essentially the "Chairman" for many years.
The history of botany at the Smithsonian Institution dates from the founding of the Smithsonian in 1846, involving plant collections from early U.S. expeditions. These were turned over to Asa Gray (1810-1888) and John Torrey (1779-1873). In 1868 the specimens were returned and arrangements were made to house them at the Department of Agriculture. Joseph Nelson Rose (1862-1928) was made Assistant Curator (1896-1905) and became Associate Curator (1905-1912), the first full-time professional botanist.
In 1893, Spencer Baird (second Secretary of the Smithsonian) established the U.S. National Museum and the U.S. National Herbarium. Frederick Vernon Coville (1867-1937), Chief Botanist of the Department of Agriculture, was appointed Honorary Curator of the National Herbarium, a post Coville retained until his death (served 44 years).
In 1894, Charles Louis Pollard (1877-1945) was appointed Assistant Curator, a post he held until 1903 (served 8 years).
In 1899, William Ralph Maxon (1877-1948) was appointed Aid in the Division of Plants and became its first Curator following Coville's death in 1937 retiring in 1946 (served 9 years).
In 1946, Maxon retired and Ellsworth Paine Killip (1890-1968) was made Curator. Shortly after, the former Division of Plants of the Department of Biology became the Department of Botany with the four divisions: Phanerogams, Grasses, Ferns, and Cryptogams.
Following the retirement of Killip in 1950 (served 4 years), Jason Richard Swallen (1903-1991) was made Curator and retired in 1964 (served 14 years).
William Louis Stern (1926-x) was Chair during the move from the Castle (1965) and left in 1968 (served 3 years).
Mason Elsworth Hale, Jr. (1928-1990) became Chair 1 July 1968, and stepped down in 1970 (served 3 years).
Edward Solomon Ayensu (1935-x) became Chair 2 April 1970, and stepped down in 1976 (served 6 years).
Dieter Carl Wasshausen (1938-x) became Chair 18 July 1976, and stepped down in 1982 (served 5+ years).
Mark Masterson Littler (1939-x) became Chair in 1982, and stepped down 31 August 1987 (served 5 years).
Lawrence Edgar Skog (1943-x) became Chair 1 September 1987, and stepped down August 1992 (served 5 years).
Warren Lambert Wagner (1950-x) became Chair 1 September 1992, and stepped down December 1997 (served 5 years).
(Walter) John Kress (1952-x) became Chair January 1998, and stepped down September 2006 (served nearly 9 years).
Warren Lambert Wagner (1950-x) started a second term 1 October 2006, indicating he will serve an additional three years.
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