Frank Knight

Frank Addison Knight (October 17, 1908 – May 14, 2012) was an arborist from Yarmouth, Maine, United States. One of his most prominent roles was as the tree warden for "Herbie", an American elm that stood in Yarmouth for over 200 years. It was a role he held for around the last fifty years of the tree's life. and largest American elm in New England. The tree was cut down in 2010 after succumbing to Dutch elm disease. Knight's efforts to extend the tree's life brought him international attention. He estimated he saved the tree's life on fourteen occasions over five decades.

He graduated North Yarmouth Academy in 1925, and later served on the school's board of trustees for over 25 years. He also graduated from the University of Maine at Orono with a forestry degree. His early career saw him working in woodlands in upstate New York and northern Maine. He later began his own business clearing land and harvesting pulp wood. He also harvested low-bush blueberries in southern Maine. His cottage was demolished and replaced with a new structure shortly after his death.

Death and legacy Knight died on May 14, 2012, at the age of 103. He had entered hospice care three days earlier. His casket had been made, in secret, out of Herbie's wood. He is buried alongside his wife in Yarmouth's Riverside Cemetery. a tree in front of NYA was planted in his honor; and, in 1983, he was the fourth recipient of the town's Latchstring Award.

In 2009, Knight joked that he was seen as a "tree lover," but that he had probably "taken down more trees than anyone in Maine."