Humphry Marshall

The eminent botanist Humphry Marshall (1722-1801), who gave his name to the West Bradford village of Marshallton, is going to be honored with a blue-and-yellow historical marker by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission. The state recently approved the application, which was submitted by the Marshallton Conservation Trust; it was the only one that was approved for Chester County. The PHMC website describes Marshall as "the Father of American Dendrology" and says that he "wrote the first and definitive book on American trees and shrubs in 1785." He also "cultivated many American species and he exported them to European gardens, including that of Louis XVI of France and King George of England." His home in Marshallton is a National Historic Landmark.