Frederick Law Olmsted (1822–1903)

American landscape architect. Farmed on Staten Island, New York, for several years; also pursued literary interests and travelled widely. Wrote extensively on slavery and the economic and social conditions of the American South. Appointed superintendent of Central Park, New York City, 1857; architect-in-chief, 1858. Superintendent, Frémont Mariposa mining estates, California, 1863–5. Reappointed landscape architect, Central Park, 1865, until his removal in 1878. Thereafter worked independently.