Garden, Alexander
Garden, Alexander,
c.1730–1791, Scottish-American naturalist and physician, b. Aberdeenshire, Scotland. He settled in Charleston, S.C., where he collected mineral, plant, and animal specimens and discovered new species, including the amphibians known as the congo snake or congo eel and the siren or mud eel. He corresponded with LinnaeusLinnaeus, Carolus, 1707–78, Swedish botanist and taxonomist, considered the founder of the binomial system of nomenclature and the originator of modern scientific classification of plants and animals. He studied botany and medicine and taught both at Uppsala.
..... Click the link for more information. and other European naturalists, and the gardenia was named for him. A loyalist during the American Revolution, he was exiled to England in 1782.