William Saunders (botanist)

William Saunders (December 7, 1822 – September 11, 1900) was a botanist, nurseryman, landscape gardener, landscape designer, and horticulturist. As the nation’s chief experimental horticulturalist, he was responsible for the introduction of many fruits and vegetables to American agriculture; with seven others he founded the National Grange and Patrons of Husbandry.

William Saunders was born in Saint Andrews, Scotland. He served as the first Master (President) of the National Grange. He was a founder of the National Grange of the Order of Patrons of Husbandry. The other founders of the Grange were: Oliver Hudson Kelley, Francis M. McDowell, John Trimble, Aaron B. Grosh, John R. Thompson, William M. Ireland and Caroline A. Hall.

He was the U.S. Department of Agriculture's first botanist and landscape designer. Saunders had been previously appointed to Superintendent of the Propagating Gardens in the Department of Agriculture, where he developed hundreds of plants, trees and shrubs that are grown throughout the United States.

An ardent botanist, he designed the cemetery at Gettysburg, for which the Gettysburg Address was written by President Lincoln as a dedication ode to those interred there. Saunders designed the park system in Washington, D.C., and oversaw the planting of 80,000 trees in the city.

...
Wikipedia