Albert Kellogg

Albert Kellogg (December 6, 1813 – March 31, 1887 ) was an American physician and the first resident botanist of California. He was a founding member of the California Academy of Sciences and served as its first curator of botany. Kellogg was a prolific writer and an accomplished illustrator of botanical specimens. In 1882, he published "The Forest Trees of California", the first scientific account of the state's diverse forest species.

Early life Albert Kellogg was born in New Hartford, Connecticut, on December 6, 1813, the son of Isaac and Aurilla Barney, prosperous farmers with a long family history in New England. After receiving a basic education in the local village schools, Kellogg was placed with a prominent physician in Middletown, Connecticut, in preparation for a medical career. Ill health forced him to return to the family farm where he spent time exploring the nearby woods and collecting herbs. He never fully recovered his health but eventually moved to the South in hopes that the milder climate would help. He studied medicine at the Medical College of South Carolina and at Transylvania University in Lexington, Kentucky, where he graduated with a medical degree.

Kellogg practiced medicine in Kentucky, Georgia, and Alabama, while taking every opportunity to explore the vegetation of the region and collect botanical specimens. On one of his journeys, in 1845, he traveled as far as San Antonio, Texas. After returning to New England in 1848, he moved to California with a group of men who were eager to join the gold rush. They purchased a schooner and sailed through the Straits of Magellan, reaching Sacramento in August, 1849. Kellogg focused most of his time and energy on his botanical interests. In 1852, he undertook the first detailed and systematic study of the giant redwood (Sequoiadendron giganteum) but did not publish it until 1855, two years after John Lindley published his article on the tree.

On 4 April 1853, Kellogg was one of seven men to meet and form the California Academy of Sciences. Their stated goal was the promotion of natural science in the new state of California. Kellogg was devoted to the organization from its beginning and served in various administrative roles including vice-president, librarian, curator, and museum director. He was the academy's first curator of botany and enthusiastically encouraged members and visitors to bring him plant specimens for identification and study.

At a meeting on 1 August 1853, Kellogg proposed "that we highly approve of the aid of females in every department of natural history, and that we earnestly invite their cooperation." His motion was approved and the academy became one of the first institutions in the world to recognize and encourage the ability of women in the scientific and intellectual sphere.

Kellogg wrote numerous papers on California plants and published them in the official Academy publications as well as local newspapers and magazines. He was an accomplished artist and many of his papers were accompanied by his illustrations. Kellogg's publications resulted in the initial descriptions of several plant genera and 215 species. In 1882, he published "The Forest Trees of California", the first scientific account of the state's remarkable forests.