Benjamin Smith Barton
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Benjamin Smith Barton (February 10, 1766 - December 19, 1815) was an American botanist.
Barton studied medicine at Philadelphia until 1786, when he transferred to the University of Edinburgh and the University of Göttingen. He obtained his degree in 1789, returning to the university of Philadelphia where he taught botany and natural history. In 1803 he published Elements of botany, or Outlines of the natural history of vegetables, the first American handbook of botany. From 1798-1804, he published a work on plants for medical use.
Barton was also interested in anatomy and zoology, and published Memoir Concerning the Fascinating Faculty Which Has been Ascribed to the Rattle-Snake. In 1803 he published a comparative study of linguistics, Etymology of Certain English Words and one Their Affinity to Words in the Languages of Different European, Asiatic and American (Indian) Nations and a test on the origin of the first American people, New Views of the Origin of the Tribes and Nations of America (1798). He was the editor of Philadelphia Medical and Physical Journal (1804-1809), one of the oldest scientific publications of the United States. At the same time, Barton continued his medical practice at the hospital of Pennsylvania. He died of tuberculosis in New York City.
In botany, his author abbreviation is Barton.
fr:Benjamin Smith Barton, Benjamin Smith