Dr. Peter Raven, the botanist who spent nearly four decades transforming the Missouri Botanical Garden into one of the world's premier scientific institutions, has died. He was 89.
Raven took the helm of the Garden in 1971 when it was a modest local institution and built it into a global research powerhouse with nearly 500 staff and conservation programs spanning five continents.
He received the National Medal of Science from President Clinton in 2000, was named a MacArthur Fellow, and was called a Hero for the Planet by Time magazine.
Beyond the Garden, he co-founded the Danforth Plant Science Center, helped establish St. Louis's sister-city relationship with Nanjing, China, and spent decades warning the world about the accelerating loss of biodiversity.
A celebration of his life will be held at the Missouri Botanical Garden.
St. Louis loses an internationally respected scientific leader.
St. Louis loses an internationally respected scientific leader.
