Dr Frederick Brendel (20 January 1820–10 August 1912)

German medical doctor, botanist, and weather observer in Peoria, Illinois. Born in Bavaria, Germany, Brendel studied medicine at the University of Erlangen, graduating in 1843. In 1850 he emigrated to the United States of America, settling in Peoria, Illinois, setting up practice as a physician. While there, in 1855, he began weather observations (temperature and precipitation measurements) and continued observing for 50 years. In Peoria, he also spent much of his time botanising, and in 1887 he published Flora Peoriana on the vegetation in the climate of middle Illinois, the result of 35 years of observations. His observations continued into his old age and he died aged 92 at the home of his eldest daughter.