skip to content

Darwin Correspondence Project

Peter Henderson

1822–90

Scottish-born horticulturist, seed-merchant, and writer. Apprenticed in the gardens of Melville Castle near Dalkeith, Scotland. Emigrated to the US in 1843. Worked in Long Island, Philadelphia, and Pittsburgh before setting up a market-gardening business with his brother James in Jersey City, NJ, in 1847. Specialised in ornamental plants after the partnership dissolved a few years later. Opened an office in New York City in 1853; established the seed and garden supply company Peter Henderson and Company in 1871. Wrote prolifically for journals; author of several books, as well as maintaining a large correspondence. Read a paper attacking CD’s graft-hybrid theory of the origin of certain species before the New York Horticultural Society in 1881.

Source

DAB

Bibliography

DAB: Dictionary of American biography. Under the auspices of the American Council of Learned Societies. 20 vols., index, and 10 supplements. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons; Simon & Schuster Macmillan. London: Oxford University Press; Humphrey Milford. 1928–95.

letter