Catalogue of microscopical slides of the Bailey collection

Jacob Whitman Bailey was born in Ward, Massachusetts on April 29, 1811. He graduated from West Point Academy in 1832, where he studied with John Torrey, and became an assistant professor of chemistry in 1834. By 1938 he was appointed the professor in charge of a new department of Chemistry, Mineralogy, and Geology. He advanced the field of microscopy in the United States and made improvements to the microscope, such as adding an indicator. He corresponded with the prominent German microscopist Christian Ehrenberg. Much of his botanical studies were devoted to infusoria.

During a period of failing health Bailey began organizing his extensive slide collection to allow it to be used by future researchers. The collection, along with Bailey’s scientific books, notes, and correspondence, was bequeathed to the Boston Society of Natural History upon his death. In 1856 he was elected president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He died February 26, 1857, a few months before his time as president would have begun.

References:

Coulter, Stanley. 1888. Jacob Whitman Bailey. Bot. Gaz. (Crawfordsville). 13(5):118-124.

Dolan, John R. 2022. Jacob Whitman Bailey (1811–1857): Ehrenberg’s ambassador to America. Eur. J. Protistol. 85.