Biography

American meteorologist and botanist in Michigan. Mark Walrod Harrington worked for the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor as professor of botany, zoology and geology as well as director of the Detroit Observatory. He also held positions at the United States Weather Bureau before his disappearance in around 1899. He was discovered a decade later suffering from severe mental illness and would never again recognise his former identity, remaining institutionalised for the rest of his life.

Born in Sycamore, Illinois, he studied at the University of Michigan and received a Bachelor's degree in 1868 and a Master's degree in 1871. He became assistant curator at the university's Museum of Natural Sciences and was later named instructor. In 1871 he took a leave of absence to served as astronomer's assistant for the US Coast and Geodetic Survey in Alaska, but continued to practice botany by collecting many herbarium specimens there. In 1876 Harrington again left to study in Leipzig, Germany, but this time resigned and spent a year teaching astronomy and mathematics in Beijing, China from 1877. Returning to the University of Michigan in 1879 he was employed as professor and observatory director and remained there until 1891. While at the university Harrington developed a course in pharmaceutical botany and one focused exclusively on the cryptogamic plants, as well as publishing numerous papers on botanical topics, including "The tropical ferns collected by Professor Steere in the years 1870-75" (1878) and The analysis of plants. Intended for schools and colleges and for the independent botanical student. (1880).

On leaving university Harrington became the first civilian head of the United States Weather Bureau, when it came under the charge of the US Department of Agriculture. He only lasted a few years, however, before being dismissed; apparently because of his problems with managing non-academic staff. For two years he served as president of the Washington Territorial University but again experienced problems and had to leave. It appears as though his mental illness may have played a part in his difficulty with leadership. After briefly returning to the Weather Bureau in a more junior role, he resigned in 1899 and after telling his wife and son (Mark Raymond Harrington) that he was going out for dinner, left home and never returned. It seems as though he spent the interim years working menial jobs in Washington State and Louisiana, even returning to China, before he applied for shelter at a police station in Newark, New Jersey, in 1907. Taken to a mental institution as a "Jon Doe", it was not until 1908 that his family found him. Although Harrington's mental state improved, he was never able to return to a normal life and refused to acknowledge his former name or history. He died in New Jersey State Mental Hospital at Morris Plains in 1926.

Sources:
History of the University of Michigan: Department of Botany, University of Michigan:
http://um2017.org/2017_Website/History_of_Botany.html, accessed 16th June 2011
Melbourne Observatory to Prof. Mark W. Harrington, Australian Postal History and Social Philately:
http://www.auspostalhistory.com/articles/1417.shtml, accessed 16th June 2011
Stargazing: 150 years of astronomy at the University of Michigan, Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan:
http://bentley.umich.edu/exhibits/astro/faculty.php, accessed 16th June 2011.