Peter Raven, botanist who led Missouri Botanical Garden for 39 years and co-coined “coevolution,” died April 25 at age 89.
Key Takeaways
Raven took over MOBOT in 1971 at age 35 and transformed it from a historic garden into a global research and conservation institution.
He co-authored “Butterflies and Plants: A Study In Coevolution” with Paul Ehrlich in Evolution journal, introducing the term “coevolution” to describe plant-herbivore interaction patterns.
Under his leadership MOBOT added the 14-acre Japanese Garden (1977), the Doris I. Schnuck Children’s Garden, and the Kemper Center for Home Gardening.
Raven initiated international botanical collaborations in China, Peru, Madagascar, and beyond, extending MOBOT’s scientific reach globally.
Honors include a MacArthur Fellowship, National Medal of Science, and Time magazine “Hero for the Planet” (1999).
