Asa Gray

Whenever you think about a famous scientist or you hear the word scientist who do you picture? Newton? Galileo? Darwin? Einstein? Maxwell? Hawking? I'm sure you probably are thinking about at least one of these esteemed folks (tell me who I missed in the comments). What are their nationalities? English. Italian. English. German. Scottish. And English. Not a single American. Its odd, but not if you think about it. America has been around for only a few centuries. Yet not one brand name American scientist. But I do beleive that there is one you should know of. One that was a prominent figure. Asa Gray. Gray was an American botanist and a man who improved science in America more than any one else in the early 19th century. A little known fact is that Gray was instrumental is Darwin's Origin of Species. Darwin wrote many letters to Gray asking about plants and botanical patterns. Darwin respected Gray's scientific prowess a lot and Gray helped shape the mind of Darwin. Gray was the center of debate involving evolution in America in 1859, yet most have probably never heard his name.

-Gustav