By Jones of Bexar H.R. No. 916 77R13543 MMS-D R E S O L U T I O N 1-1 WHEREAS, May 21, 2001, marks the 200th anniversary of the 1-2 birth of Ferdinand Jacob Lindheimer, known as the Father of Texas 1-3 Botany; and 1-4 WHEREAS, A native of Frankfurt am Maim, Germany, Lindheimer 1-5 was a professor of literature and linguistics when his political 1-6 reform activity discountenanced both his family and the government 1-7 and led to his emigration in 1834; and 1-8 WHEREAS, He first settled in Belleville, Illinois, among a 1-9 group of German expatriates that included the botanist George 1-10 Engelmann; later in 1834 he moved to Mexico, where he joined 1-11 another German settlement on a hacienda in Vera Cruz and began 1-12 making plant and insect collections; and 1-13 WHEREAS, In 1836 Lindheimer came to Texas to aid in the fight 1-14 for independence, but the war ended before he saw any action; after 1-15 his discharge from the army in 1837 he engaged in farming and 1-16 continued his plant collecting; he spent two winters with Engelmann 1-17 in St. Louis, and in 1843 abandoned farming to work as a botanical 1-18 collector for Engelmann and Asa Gray, a botanist at Harvard 1-19 University; and 1-20 WHEREAS, From 1843 to 1852 Lindheimer devoted himself to 1-21 collecting specimens, exploring the region from Galveston to north 1-22 of Fredericksburg; he spent months at a time in the wilderness, 1-23 where he was allowed to wander unmolested by Indians who regarded 1-24 him as a medicine man; and 2-1 WHEREAS, During this period Lindheimer moved to New Braunfels 2-2 and built a cabin on the banks of the Comal River; in 1852 he 2-3 assumed the editorship of the Neu-Braunfelser Zeitung, and the time 2-4 he was able to spend on botany diminished considerably; a prominent 2-5 figure in the community, he also served as superintendent of public 2-6 instruction in Comal County and as the county's first justice of 2-7 the peace; and 2-8 WHEREAS, In 1872 Lindheimer left the newspaper, of which he 2-9 had become publisher, and returned to botany; by the time of his 2-10 death in 1879, he had discovered several hundred new plant species 2-11 in Texas and is believed to have collected between 80,000 and 2-12 100,000 specimens; nearly 50 of the plants he discovered bear Latin 2-13 designations incorporating his name; and 2-14 WHEREAS, More than 20 institutions around the world house 2-15 specimens gathered by this indefatigable collector, among them the 2-16 British Museum, the Museum of Natural History in Paris, and the 2-17 Komarov Botanic Institute in St. Petersburg; and 2-18 WHEREAS, Ferdinand Lindheimer's outstanding contributions as 2-19 a pioneering naturalist and newspaperman have ensured his lasting 2-20 fame in the annals of the Lone Star State, and it is altogether 2-21 fitting that he be honored on the bicentennial of his birth; now, 2-22 therefore, be it 2-23 RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 77th Texas 2-24 Legislature hereby recognize May 21, 2001, as Ferdinand Jacob 2-25 Lindheimer Day in the State of Texas, in tribute to a life 2-26 distinguished by extraordinary achievement.