Caroline Bingham

{{short description|American botanist}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2018}}

{{Infobox scientist

|name = Caroline Priscilla Bingham

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|nationality = American

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|field = Botanist

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|known_for = Discovery of several new species of algae

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File:Lectotype of Convolvulus binghamiae - PhytoKeys-032-001-g005.jpg

Caroline Priscilla Bingham (née Lord, 1831–1932) was an American botanist who was one of the earliest American women to publish scientific papers on botany. She was an influential collector of botanical specimens discovering a new genus and several new species. As a result of her discoveries Bingham had a genus and several algae species named in her honor.{{cite book|last1=Hollenberg|first1=George J.|last2=Abbott|first2=Isabella A.|title=Marine Algae of California|date=1992|publisher=Stanford University Press|location=Stanford, California|isbn=9780804721523|page=24}}

Biography

=Early life and marriage=

Bingham was born in 1831 in Pennsylvania. She and her family shifted to Ohio around 1836. She married her husband, Richard Fitch Bingham in Ohio and subsequently the couple moved to California in 1873. At around this time she took up the study of botany.{{cite web|last1=Charters|first1=Michael L|title=bing'hamiae|url=http://www.calflora.net/botanicalnames/pageBA-BI.html|website=www.calfora.net|access-date=April 30, 2015}}

=Botany work=

Bingham was one of the earliest American women to publish a scientific paper on botany. She is one of only six American women listed in the London Royal Society Catalogue of Science Papers 1800 - 1900 whose journal articles predate 1880.{{cite book|last1=Creese|first1=Mary R. S.|title=Ladies in the laboratory? : American and British women in science, 1800-1900 : a survey of their contributions to research|date=1998|publisher=Scarecrow|location=Lanham, Md.|isbn=081083287-9|page=3}} Her first known article was published in the Botanical Gazette in 1879.{{cite journal|title=Common and troublesome weeds near Santa Barbara|journal=Botanical Gazette|date=1879|volume=IV|issue=11|pages=226|url=https://archive.org/stream/botanicalgazette14hano#page/226/mode/2up/search/Bingham|access-date=April 30, 2015|doi=10.1086/325297|last1=Gray|first1=A.|s2cid=85396559}}

Bingham was a member of the Santa Barbara Natural History Society and held the position of Secretary of the Society.{{cite journal|title=Scientific Societies of California|journal=The West-American Scientist|date=1885|volume=1|issue=10|page=75|url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/110095#page/101/mode/1up|access-date=April 30, 2015}} She was also a member of the publication committee for the Bulletin of the Santa Barbara Society and published an article in that journal in March 1887.{{cite journal|last1=Bingham|first1=R. F., Mrs|title=Flora Near Santa Barbara California|journal=Bulletin of the Santa Barbara Society of Natural History|date=March 1887|volume=1|pages=18–21|url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/121734#page/3/mode/1up|access-date=April 30, 2015}}

As well as publishing papers on her botany work Bingham collaborated with botanists such as Alpheus Hervey, William Gilson Farlow{{cite journal|last1=Setchell|first1=W. A.|last2=Dawson|first2=E. Y.|title=Binghamia, the Alga, versus Bighamia, the Cactus.|journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America|date=1941|volume=27|issue=8|doi=10.1073/pnas.27.8.376|pmid=16588473|pages=376–381|bibcode=1941PNAS...27..376S|pmc=1078343|doi-access=free}} and Jacob Georg Agardh. Bingham assisted their work by providing specimens, lists of plants she collected, notes on special habitat, seasons of growth and frequency of appearance.{{cite book|last1=Hervey|first1=A. B.|title=Sea mosses, a collector's guide and an introduction to the study of marine Algae.|date=1893|publisher=B Whidden|location=Boston|page=x|url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/bibliography/32099#/summary|access-date=April 30, 2015}}

Bingham also corresponded with Joseph Dalton Hooker at the Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew on botanical matters.{{cite web|title=Letter from Mrs R.F. Bingham to Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker; from Santa Barbara, California, United States of America; 3 Nov 1885; two page letter comprising two images; folio 54|url=http://plants.jstor.org/search?si=0&ff=ps_type__ps_continent__ps_repository_name_str&fq=cHNfY29sbGVjdGlvbl9uYW1lX3N0cjooIlJveWFsIEJvdGFuaWMgR2FyZGVucywgS2V3OiBBcmNoaXZlczogRGlyZWN0b3JzJyBDb3JyZXNwb25kZW5jZSIp&filter=free_text&so=ps_group_by_genus_species+asc&Query=%28Mrs+Bingham%29|website=JSTOR Global Plants|publisher=Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew|access-date=May 1, 2015}}

Her specimens continue to be studied{{cite journal|last1=Brummitt|first1=R. K.|last2=White|first2=Scott D.|last3=Wood|first3=Justin M.|title=Status of Bingham's Morning-Glory in the Light of its Rediscovery|journal=Madroño|volume=59|pages=25–27|doi=10.3120/0024-9637-59.1.25|date=January 2012|s2cid=85731112|url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/part/169191}} and are held at various herbaria including the United States National Herbarium,{{cite web|title=Search of Botany Collections|url=http://collections.nmnh.si.edu/search/botany/?irn=2302068|website=Smithsonian Museum of Natural History|publisher=Smithsonian Institution|access-date=May 1, 2015}} the Gray Herbarium, the Steere Herbarium of the New York Botanical Garden, the University of Notre Dame herbarium, the University of California herbarium, the California Academy of Sciences herbarium and the Farlow Herbarium at Harvard University{{cite web|title=Catalog #: FH00777061|url=http://macroalgae.org/portal/collections/individual/index.php?occid=500136&clid=0|website=Macroalgae Herbarium Portal|publisher=Harvard University|access-date=May 1, 2015}}

=Death=

Her husband died in 1895 and she subsequently moved to New Bedford where she died aged 101.

Published works

  • Bingham, R. F., (1879), "Common and troublesome weeds near Santa Barbara", California Botanical Gazette, Vols 3 and 4, p. 226
  • {{cite journal | last1 = Bingham | first1 = R. F.| year = 1887 | title = Flora near Santa Barbara | journal = Botanical Gazette | volume = 12 | issue = 2| pages = 33–35 | doi=10.1086/326074| s2cid = 84573691| url = https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/part/221642}}
  • {{cite journal | last1 = Bingham | first1 = R. F.| year = 1887 | title = An American Papaver | journal = Botanical Gazette | volume = 12 | issue = 3| page = 67 | doi=10.1086/326091| doi-access = free }}
  • {{cite journal | last1 = Bingham | first1 = R. F.| year = 1890 | title = Medicinal Plants growing wild in Santa Barbara and vicinity | journal = Bulletin of the Santa Barbara Society of Natural History | volume = 1 | issue = 2| pages = 34–37 }}

Eponymous taxa

Bingham had the algal genus Binghamia named after her along with several algae species including Dictyota binghamiae, Endarachne binghamiae, Gigartina binghamiae and Leptocladia binghamiae

References