John Kunkel Small (January 31, 1869 – January 20, 1938) was an American botanist. He studied plants in the southeastern United States and wrote a book about the deterioration of habitats in Florida.
Early life and education
Small was born on January 31, 1869, in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. He studied botany at Franklin & Marshall College, receiving his Bachelor's degree in 1892. Then he studied at Columbia University, where he earned a doctorate in philosophy in 1895 and a doctorate in science in 1912.
Career
thumb|Family of John Kunkel Small in the [[Florida Everglades near Lake Okeechobee aboard the boat "Lida", 1913. Small frequently brought his family with him on his botanical and ethnographic excursions. From left to right: George K. Small, Kathryn Wheeler Small, Elizabeth Wheeler Small, Elizabeth Small, and John Wheeler Small.]] After his first graduation in 1895, he became a special agent for the Georgia Geological Survey. From 1906 to 1934, he was Head Curator, and then from 1934 until his death he was Chief Research Associate and Curator. Small's doctoral dissertation, published as Flora of the Southeastern United States in 1903, and revised in 1913 and 1933, is a detailed floristic reference for much of the South. Assisted by the patronage of Charles Deering, Small traveled extensively around Florida recording plants and land formations.
Small was an early botanical explorer of Florida, documenting many species for the first time, although the flora and fauna were well known to the local Seminole people. His first trip to the region was in 1901. Over the next 37 years, Small visited many times "to collect specimens, to study the natural history of the region, and to photograph natural landscapes, tropical plants, Seminoles and other local folk".
Death
Small died of heart disease on January 20, 1938, at the age of 68, at his home in the Bronx.