John Thomas Baldwin

John Thomas Baldwin Jr. (September 5, 1910 – September 3, 1974) was an American botanist. He specialized in cytogenetics of plants and in his early career studied the family Crassulaceae. In 1946 Baldwin was appointed professor at his alma mater, the College of William & Mary. He also worked for the US Department of Agriculture, accompanying their expeditions to Africa. During the 1947–48 US Economic Mission to Liberia Baldwin discovered that Strophanthus sarmentosus was a natural source of the steroid hormone cortisone and it was subsequently used for the manufacture of drugs. He planted an extensive collection of plants on the college campus, which later botanists claimed to be one of the most important in the country. After Baldwin's death, the college donated land to form a memorial park in his honor.

Early life and career John Thomas Baldwin Junior was born on September 5, 1910, in Chase City, Virginia. He specialised in cytogenetics, with regard to plant chromosomes. The cultivar Kalanchoe x houghtonii 'J.T. Baldwin', which he had published the original cytological data for and illustrated, was named after him in recognition of his work.

Baldwin worked as an instructor of botany at the University of Michigan between 1939 and 1941. Between 1942 and 1944 he was an associate cytologist for the US Department of Agriculture during investigations of rubber plants in the Amazon valley. Between 1944 and 1946 Baldwin was assistant professor and manager of the Blandy Experimental Farm at the University of Virginia. He served as horticulturalist of the 1947–48 US Economic Mission to Liberia. On this expedition he studied the distribution, prevalence and behavior of Strophanthus plants. Baldwin discovered that Strophanthus sarmentosus was a natural source of the steroid hormone cortisone. The sarmentosus plant was used in the early manufacture of cortisone-based drugs. A small memorial park was established by Tidewater District Council and the Williamsburg Area Council of Garden Clubs on May 1, 1977. The land for the park had been donated by the college and it was planted with specimens propagated from Baldwin's collection. Baldwin had a history of involvement with the council of garden clubs, who had awarded him their 1971 prize.

The grass species Loudetia baldwinii and Loudetiopsis baldwinii are named after Baldwin.