The Chestertown Garden Club cordially invites you to An Evening with John Bartram, America’s first botanist, horticulturist, explorer, and royal botanist to King George III in the new world. The program will be held on Tuesday, November 4, 2014 at 7:00PM at the Chester River Yacht and Country Club, 7738 Quaker Neck Road, Chestertown, MD.
Kirk R. Brown will portray John Bartram in the evening’s presentation. He will be reenacting the life of colonial-era plantsman, John Bartram, “the father of American Botany”, dressed in a spouse-created waistcoat, stylish breeches, buckled shoes and with carved snake-adorned walking stick in hand. He will regale you with political jokes, life-long accomplishments, and complaints.
John Bartram (1699-1777) was a third-generation Pennsylvania Quaker. He was imbued with a curiosity and reverence for nature, as well as a passion for scientific inquiry. Bartram purchased 102 acres from Swedish settlers in 1728, and systematically began gathering the most varied collection of North American plants in the world including Franklinia alatamaha, extinct in the wild since the early 1800s. A self-taught man, Bartram had the quintessential “can do” American spirit that continues to inspire us today. His travels – by boat, on horseback, and on foot, took him to New England, as far south as Florida and west to Lake Ontario. In 1765, Bartram was appointed the “Royal Botanist” by King George III. At home, Bartram founded the American Philosophical Society with his friend, Benjamin Franklin. His garden was a source of inquiry and pleasure for luminaries like Thomas Jefferson and George Washington.
The lecture/program on November 4 is open to the broader community and is made possible through a generous bequest from Shirley and William Susen to the Chestertown Garden Club for the expressed purpose of education for members and the community about horticulture and design.
The Chestertown Garden Club hopes to see you at this interesting and enjoyable program.
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