DAN HENRY NICOLSON

  
DAN HENRY NICOLSON  
Died June 2, 2016 at his retirement home in Mitchellville, MD, after a long struggle with Alzheimer''s disease. Born September 5, 1933 in Kansas City, Missouri, he grew up in Shenandoah, Iowa. He received a BA from Grinnell College in 1955, MBA at Stanford Business School in 1957 and an MA and PhD at Cornell University in 1959 and 1964. A botanist, he was a Curator at the US National Herbarium of the Smithsonian Institution for 43 years, where he specialized in the taxonomy of Araceae, the flora of Dominica, India and Nepal, and was recognized as an international authority on the Code of Botanical Nomenclature. Throughout his life Dan''s work in botany was one of his greatest pleasures; he loved traveling and working with other botanists all around the world. His interest in genealogy led him to re-establish contact with relatives in Shetland and Germany. Dan was a long-time resident of Alcova Heights in Arlington, VA. He is survived by his loving family: Alice, his wife of over 56 years; his three children, John (Lisa) of Evanston, IL, Sally (Phil Chapados) of Pittsford, NY and David (Tamar) of Chevy Chase, MD; and eight grandchildren, to whom he was "Jiddi". No services are planned.Contributions in his memory may be made to the Audubon Naturalist Society, 8940 Jones Mill Rd., Chevy Chase, MD 20815 or to the Dan H. Nicolson Fund, IAPT-USA, Sally Eichhorn, Treasurer, c/o Department of Botany, Smithsonian Institution, P.P. Box 37012, Washington, DC 20013-7012.