Eaton, Daniel Cady

Eaton, Daniel Cady (1835–95) botanist; born in Fort Gratiot, Mich. He was influenced by his grandfather, botanist and educator Amos Eaton, and by his father's interest in natural history. He served with the army commissary in New York City during the Civil War (1860–64), then became a professor of botany at Yale (1864–95). A specialist in ferns (and later in mosses), he performed much field work, wrote botanical definitions for Webster's International Dictionary, and authored the classic The Ferns of North America (1877–80).