Cadwallader Colden

Born in Scotland in 1688, Cadwallader Colden trained in medicine before settling in New York in the early 18th century. He built a wide-ranging career in the colony, serving in public office for decades and eventually acting as lieutenant governor. His long public life made him an important figure in New York politics during the years leading up to the American Revolution.

Colden was not only a politician. He was also deeply interested in science and is remembered for his work in botany and for his correspondence with leading thinkers of his time. His writings and observations helped connect colonial intellectual life with the broader scientific world of the Atlantic.

He died in 1776, the same year the American colonies declared independence. That timing gives his story a special place in history: he belonged to an older British colonial world, yet he lived long enough to see it begin to break apart.