Biography

American botanist and geographer who worked for various institutions in the southern United States. Roland Harper was interested in plant geography, ecology and systematics as well as soils, crops, weeds and forestry. Born in Farmington, Maine, he moved to Dalton in northwest Georgia with his family at the age of ten and from there to Americus (in the west of that state) five years later. Harper did not take much of an interest in botany as a youngster and attended the University of Georgia in order to study engineering. During his undergraduate years he began to identify plants as part of his course and enjoyed collecting specimens. By the time of his graduation in 1897 he had discovered and described the Cyperaceae species Scirpus georgianus.

At this time Harper's family moved to Southbridge, Massachusetts, but he was unable to find work there as an engineer and so took employment in an optical works. Harper continued to pursue his interest in botany, working for the US National Herbarium (1901-1902) and as a forestry collector for the Geological Survey of Georgia (1903-1904). Attending Columbia University as a postgraduate student he was awarded a PhD in 1905 for his work on the flora of Georgia. At this time he took an appointment as botanist and geographer for the Alabama Geological Survey (1905-1906) and from then onwards worked in that capacity for the American Museum of Natural History, the US National Herbarium, the US Department of Agriculture, Biltmore Forest School and the Arnold Arboretum.

Harper gathered plant specimens throughout Florida, Georgia, Arkansas and New York, discovering a total of 30 new flowering plant species (15 of which bear his name), as well as the Apiaceae genus Harperella Rose and the Floridian lily genus Harperocallis McDaniel. Of his 500 or so papers, he is best remembered for his phytogeographical work and his Phytogeographical Sketch of the Altamaha Grit Region of Georgia (1906) in particular. In later life Harper turned his attention more and more to sociological topics, being interested in demography, biostatistics and race relations (he was an advocate of White Supremacy). A keen collector of all manner of things, he amassed some 1,500 train timetables and over 50,000 newspaper cuttings. Harper married Mary Susan Wigley in 1943, at the age of 65, and the couple moved to Tuscaloosa where he died 33 years later.

Sources:
Anon, 1908, "Registered Investigators at the New York Botanical Garden", Journal of the New York Botanical Garden, 9: 57-80
E. Joseph, 1968, "Roland McMillan Harper (1878-1966)", Torreya, 95(4): 391-396.

Biography

American botanist and geographer who worked for various institutions in the southern United States. Roland Harper was interested in plant geography, ecology and systematics as well as soils, crops, weeds and forestry. Born in Farmington, Maine, he moved to Dalton in northwest Georgia with his family at the age of ten and from there to Americus (in the west of that state) five years later. Harper did not take much of an interest in botany as a youngster and attended the University of Georgia in order to study engineering. During his undergraduate years he began to identify plants as part of his course and enjoyed collecting specimens. By the time of his graduation in 1897 he had discovered and described the Cyperaceae species Scirpus georgianus.

At this time Harper's family moved to Southbridge, Massachusetts, but he was unable to find work there as an engineer and so took employment in an optical works. Harper continued to pursue his interest in botany, working for the US National Herbarium (1901-1902) and as a forestry collector for the Geological Survey of Georgia (1903-1904). Attending Columbia University as a postgraduate student he was awarded a PhD in 1905 for his work on the flora of Georgia. At this time he took an appointment as botanist and geographer for the Alabama Geological Survey (1905-1906) and from then onwards worked in that capacity for the American Museum of Natural History, the US National Herbarium, the US Department of Agriculture, Biltmore Forest School and the Arnold Arboretum.

Harper gathered plant specimens throughout Florida, Georgia, Arkansas and New York, discovering a total of 30 new flowering plant species (15 of which bear his name), as well as the Apiaceae genus Harperella Rose and the Floridian lily genus Harperocallis McDaniel. Of his 500 or so papers, he is best remembered for his phytogeographical work and his Phytogeographical Sketch of the Altamaha Grit Region of Georgia (1906) in particular. In later life Harper turned his attention more and more to sociological topics, being interested in demography, biostatistics and race relations (he was an advocate of White Supremacy). A keen collector of all manner of things, he amassed some 1,500 train timetables and over 50,000 newspaper cuttings. Harper married Mary Susan Wigley in 1943, at the age of 65, and the couple moved to Tuscaloosa where he died 33 years later.

Sources:
Anon, 1908, "Registered Investigators at the New York Botanical Garden", Journal of the New York Botanical Garden, 9: 57-80
E. Joseph, 1968, "Roland McMillan Harper (1878-1966)", Torreya, 95(4): 391-396.