Lucien Marcus Underwood


Lucien Marcus Underwood was an American botanist and mycologist of the 19th and early 20th centuries.

Early life and career

He was born in New Woodstock, New York, and graduated from Syracuse University. In 1880 he was appointed professor of geology and botany in Illinois Wesleyan University, in 1883 professor of biology in his alma mater, and in 1891 he became professor of botany in De Pauw University. In 1896, after a short stint as a biology professor at Auburn University, Underwood became a professor of botany at Columbia University and joined the staff of the New York Botanical Garden.

Works

Underwood published numerous papers in botanical journals, and was the author of , Descriptive Catalogue of North American Hepaticae and “Hepaticae” in Gray's Manual of Botany. He also prepared An Illustrated Century of Fungi with 100 specimens, and Hepaticae Americanae with 160 specimens.

Personal life

After losing large amounts of money on Wall Street, Underwood attempted to murder his wife and daughter before committing suicide at the family's home in Redding, Connecticut.