Arthur H. Manville (1857-1897)
Inducted 1968
Highlights
Florida Fruit Growers Association
Practical Orange Culture
Farmer and Fruit Grower
Bio
Arthur Henry Manville was a prominent nineteenth century botanist. He was born in 1857 in Genesco, Illinois, and came to Florida in 1875. He devoted his love of botany to citrus, and began the classification and the nomenclature of the citrus family as we know it today. He produced a catalogue in 1880-81 that was acclaimed as “the most correct and perfect account of the varieties extant.”
Manville produced a variety of articles on citrus varieties during the 1870’s and 1880’s. His book, “Practical Orange Culture”, was also published during this time. In 1889, he became editor of Farmer and Fruit Grower and sought to establish it as “a practical paper for the people.”
In the 1870’s, Manville took on a prominent role with the Florida Fruit Growers Association, which was a predecessor to the formation of the Florida State Horticultural Society in Ocala in 1887. He is largely credited as the driving force behind the organization’s formation, and he served as secretary until his premature death at the age of 40.
Arthur H. Manville’s contribution to Florida citrus was recognized many years later, when he was posthumously inducted to the Florida Citrus Hall of Fame in 1968.