(person) by masked Tue Dec 17 2002 at 11:38:55
Zaccheus Collins, (1764-1831). American botanist, V.P. of the Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sciences, Director of the Library Company of Philadelphia (founded by Ben Franklin), mineralogist, and naturalist.
The genus Collinsia is named after him.

Yes I know that's not very fleshed out, but I've seriously looked around and there's really not much specific information about this guy, so I'd like to encourage anyone who knows more about him to add a writeup. Until then, on the advice of fellow noders, I'll add some of the vague info about him that's floating around:

  • In 1832 his personal library was sold to Loganian Library of the Library Company of Philadelphia for $1,200. (That was a lot of money back then).
  • He appears to have been well respected by other botanists and naturalists. Hence Thomas Nuttall proposing the idea of naming a genus after him.
  • Postmen apparently knew where to find him. Most of the literary record we have of him is in the form of letters, or of notes in his personal library. We have correspondence to him from other famous naturalists such as Thomas Nuttall, William Baldwin, and John Torrey. Torrey was the founder of the Torrey Botanical Society. We also have correspondence between him and nutty naturalists with strange names, such as Constantine Samuel Rafinesque-Schmaltz who was a contemporary, and apparently rival, of Audubon.
I like it!