History of New England Botanical Club and Society
Initiated by Ray Angelo – former NEBC Curator of Vascular Plants
December 10, 1895
A meeting is held at 8 PM by invitation of Dr. William G. Farlow of Harvard University at his home next to the campus ” …to see whether it is advisable to attempt to form a club of those specially interested in the study of our local flora.” Dr. Farlow sent invitations to 16 men, 11 of whom attended.
January 6, 1896
Second organizational meeting is held at Dr. Farlow’s house with 12 men in attendance. A slate of officers is nominated, a proposed constitution is discussed, four names for the club are proposed, and 17 charter members are designated.
February 5, 1896
The club is officially created with the adoption of a constitution, a name, and election of officers at the home of Judge Joseph Churchill in Dorchester, Massachusetts. “The New England Botanical Club is established for the promotion of social intercourse and the dissemination of local and general information among gentleman interested in the flora of New England.” Dues are set at $2 per annum. The first meeting of the Council is held after the regular meeting. The first president is Dr. Farlow.
April 1, 1896
NEBC votes to accept the offer of a room in Harvard’s Agassiz Museum (presently Harvard’s Museum of Comparative Zoology) for the storage of a herbarium.
January 2, 1899
The first issue of the club’s journal, Rhodora, is published. The first editor is Dr. Benjamin Robinson of Harvard University (co-author with M. L. Fernald of the 7th edition of Gray’s Manual). Issues are published monthly.
December 16, 1920
NEBC incorporates as “The New England Botanical Club, Inc.”
1964
NEBC publishes Arthur Stanley Pease’s “A Flora of Northern New Hampshire.”
November 6, 1964
The Bylaws are amended to eliminate the reference to “gentleman”, allowing the admission of women to membership in the NEBC. In an advisory mail-in vote, active members who signed their ballots voted 27 in favor, 20 opposed. The official vote taken at the meeting was 18 in favor, 9 opposed.
December 6, 1968
The first woman, Dr. Alice Tryon of Harvard University, is elected to membership (and in 1978 is first woman to be President of NEBC).
1978
NEBC Committee on Rare and Endangered Species prepares reports for each of the six New England states, the first NEBC Special Publications since 1964.
May 4-5, 1979
NEBC symposium on “Rare and Endangered Plant Species in New England” is held at Harvard University. U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service presents NEBC with an achievement award for its efforts to protect the rare and endangered flora of New England.
April 30, 1985
NEBC awards the first Graduate Student Research Award.
May 6-7, 1988
NEBC symposium “Plant Conservation: A Biogeographical Perspective” is held at Harvard University.
March 21, 1992
Symposium on rare plant conservation, co-sponsored by NEBC and the New England Wild Flower Society, is held at Bentley University (Waltham, Massachusetts).
June 5, 1992
NEBC signs a written agreement for joint activities with Harvard University, formalizing its long-standing relationship with this institution. Merging of NEBC herbarium (250,000 sheets) with the Harvard University Herbaria collections commences (with specimens of New England states of all herbaria to be kept in separate folders).
December, 1995
NEBC is given shared office at the Harvard University Herbaria where NEBC library, computer, and microscope are housed.
January, 1996
NEBC website goes on-line on Harvard University Herbaria server at domain Rhodora.org.
April, 1996
NEBC announces elimination of page charges for Rhodora indefinitely as part of the celebration of the organization’s centennial.
April 5, 1996
Revised Bylaws were adopted.
July, 1996
NEBC Centennial Field Trip is held in Newfoundland, revisiting sites visited by M. L. Fernald.
August, 1996
In its first 100 years, NEBC has met 919 times, mostly at Harvard University, but in recent years with two meetings annually at other New England educational institutions.
November 1, 1996
NEBC Centennial Banquet is held at the Harvard Faculty Club (adjacent to the site of Professor William Farlow’s residence where the founding meeting was held in December 10, 1895) with 85 members and guests in attendance.
April 9-10, 1999
In celebration of the 100th year of publication of our journal, Rhodora, NEBC sponsors a symposium titled “The Dynamics of the New England Flora.”
November 12, 2000
NEBC receives the annual Conservation Award of the New England Wild Flower Society (now Native Plant Trust) “for more than a century of outstanding commitment to native plant conservation through educational outings, symposia, books and the journal Rhodora.”
May 2, 2003
NEBC presents the first Merritt Lyndon Fernald Award for the best paper published in the previous year’s Rhodora that makes use of herbarium specimens and/or field work.
October 1, 2004
NEBC celebrates its 1000th meeting at Broadmoor Wildlife Sanctuary in Natick, Massachusetts.
September 10, 2005
NEBC web site is moved off of the Harvard University Herbaria server.
November, 2005
NEBC is honored with appearance in the prestigious 2005 Massachusetts Catalogue for Philanthropy, among 72 Massachusetts charities selected from 253 applicants from among 3,000 charities contacted to apply.
October, 2006
NEBC agrees to have most of its back issues of Rhodora scanned and made available gratis online as part of the Botanicus project at the Missouri Botanical Garden Library.
November, 2006
NEBC approves an agreement for 2005 and later issues of Rhodora to be part of the BioOne.2 digital subscription service.
October, 2011
NEBC launches new website.
January, 2015
Dr. Nishanta Rajakaruna is appointed as Editor-In-Chief of the journal Rhodora.
March 2015
NEBC awards first the Les Mehrhoff Botanical Research Awards in honor of Dr. Leslie J. Mehrhoff, NEBC Curator of Vascular Plants, past President, Vice-President, Librarian and a champion of field studies, as well as herbarium, library, and archival research.
June, 2015
NEBC holds free research conference at Smith College to celebrate the 120th anniversary of the initial organizing meeting of the New England Botanical Club at the home of Dr. William G. Farlow. About 150 participants from all over New England and adjacent regions attended the conference.
July, 2019
NEBC awards the first Junior Faculty Award to support junior faculty studies on the flora of New England.
October 2019
Dr. Melanie Schori is appointed as Editor-In-Chief of the journal Rhodora.
March 2020
All meetings, events, and field trips were cancelled because of the COVID-19 virus pandemic.
October 2020
Monthly meetings resumed in a remote format.
February 5, 2021
NEBC celebrates the 125th anniversary of its founding via an email sent to members because of the global pandemic. It included a link to this History webpage, a slideshow about the 17 founding members, a report that was written after the first official meeting on February 5, 1896, and a list of past officers, councilors, and others who have served NEBC since our founding.
February 27, 2021
At a Special Meeting of The New England Botanical Club, held virtually, members discussed and then voted to change our organization’s name to the New England Botanical Society. At the same meeting, Bylaws that had been updated and revised from the 1996 version, were also approved and included the name change. All votes were unanimous of those in attendance.
March 31, 2022
Rhodora Volume 122 Number 992 is the first issue of the journal to be self-published.
February 2023
Current Rhodora.org website was updated to reflect the new name of the organization: New England Botanical Society.
January 2024
Dr. Lytton John Musselman is appointed as Editor-In-Chief of the journal Rhodora.
