Oakes Ames

Who was Oakes Ames?

Oakes Ames was an American botanist specializing in orchids. His estate is now the Borderland State Park in Massachusetts.

Ames was born into a wealthy family from North Easton, Massachusetts as the youngest son of Governor Oliver Ames. At age fifteen, he collected his first orchids in Easton. He was educated at Harvard University, receiving his A.B. in 1898 and his A.M. in 1899. He married Blanche Ames in 1900, resulting in her married name of Blanche Ames Ames.

Ames spent his entire professional career at Harvard. As administrator, he was Assistant Director and Director of the Botanic Garden; Curator, Supervisor, Director, and Associate Director of the Botanic Museum; Chairman of the Division of Biology and Chairman of the Council of Botanical Collections and Supervisor of the Biological Laboratory, the Atkins Garden in Cuba, and the Arnold Arboretum. As teacher, he was an instructor in botany, associate professor of botany, professor of botany and Arnold professor of botany. From 1935 to 1941 he was a research professor of botany. He was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1911.