Traill Green

Dr. Traill Green M.D., LL.D (May 25, 1813 – April 29, 1897) was a medical doctor, scientist, and educator. Green was actively engaged with the early years of Lafayette College, serving at various times as a professor, trustee, and acting president. He was a civic leader in Easton, Pennsylvania, where he lived most of his life.

Early life Green was born in Easton, Pennsylvania, in 1813 to Benjamin and Elizabeth Green, who instilled upon him an interest in nature and science. This led to Green pursuing education in medicine, attending the University of Pennsylvania medical program where he graduated in 1835.

Career

Immediately following his graduation, Green was appointed to the Philadelphia dispensary, where he worked for one year before opening up his own medical practice in Easton. Knowledgeable in the field of medicine, Green was asked in 1837 by the newly-formed Lafayette College if he would become the school's professor of chemistry, a role in which he taught for another four years. Following this stint with Lafayette, Green served on the chair of natural sciences at Marshall College from 1841 to 1848, where he pursued his interests in botany.

In 1848, Green returned to Easton where he resumed his medical practice and his relationship with Lafayette as a trustee to the school.

Upon the donation of this astronomy building, Green asked then-president William Cassady Cattell that his name not be mentioned upon the laying of the cornerstone. Cattell honored this wish, yet loosely hinted at the building's donor in his dedication saying, "The donor was too modest to allow his name to be mentioned....whoever he was, his name would be green in the memories of all true lovers of Lafayette."

As one of his final roles in life, Green served as the acting president of Lafayette College from 1890 to 1891.

Personal life

In 1844, Green married Harriet Moore, who he had met at one of his botany classes. Together they had three children.

He died on April 29, 1897, in his hometown of Easton, Pennsylvania. Bailey Hortorium Herbarium at Cornell University, the herbarium of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University, and Pennsylvania State University Herbarium. In Australasia, specimens are held by the National Herbarium of Victoria - Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria.