Downing, Andrew Jackson, 1815–52, American horticulturist, rural architect, and landscape gardener, b. Newburgh, N.Y. With his brother Charles Downing he took over the operation of the nursery that his father had established at Newburgh, and c.1838, Andrew became sole owner. His Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening, Adapted to North America (1841) rapidly became a classic and passed through 10 editions (10th ed. 1921). His Cottage Residences (1842) was an attempt to point the way to improvement in the homes of country people. With Charles, Downing published, both in England and the United States, The Fruits and Fruit Trees of America (1845), a valuable work that passed through 13 editions in the author's lifetime. From 1846 until his early death he edited the Horticulturist; his editorials were in part published as Rural Essays (1853). In 1850 he published his Architecture for Country Houses. With Calvert Vaux Vaux, Calvert (vôks), 1824–95, American landscape architect, b. London. He emigrated (1857) to the United States with A. J.
..... Click the link for more information. he designed and constructed the homes and gardens of a great number of country estates along the Hudson River. He also planned the grounds for the Capitol, the White House, and the Smithsonian Institution.

Downing, Andrew Jackson

(born Oct. 30, 1815, Newburgh, N.Y., U.S.—died July 28, 1852, vicinity of Yonkers, N.Y.) U.S. horticulturist, landscape gardener, and architect. He educated himself in landscape gardening and architecture while working in his father's nursery. In 1850 he began collaborating with the British architect Calvert Vaux (1824–95); the two designed a number of estates in New York's Hudson River valley and on Long Island. Recognized as the foremost U.S. landscape designer of his day, he was commissioned in 1851 to lay out the grounds for the Capitol, the White House, and the Smithsonian Institution. His death at 36 in a steamboat accident prevented him from seeing his plans to completion. His books on architecture and landscaping became standard works, and his influence on American conceptions of the middle-class home were far-reaching.

Downing, Andrew Jackson (1815–52) landscape gardener, horticulturist; born in Newburgh, N.Y. He learned horticulture in his family's nursery and would later write the standard text, The Fruits and Fruit Trees of America (1845). Before that, his views on designing both landscape and buildings—conveyed in A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening (1841) and in Cottage Residences (1842)—had become widely influential. He was editor of The Horticulturist (1846–52) which further promoted his views of improving properties. He himself was somewhat influenced by then current English ideas and he brought Calvert Vaux from England in 1850; together they designed various projects until Downing's untimely death in a steamboat disaster.