John Gifford

John Clayton Gifford (8 February 1870 – 25 June 1949) was a naturalist and forester who was the first American to hold a PhD in forestry. Born in 1870 in the Mays Landing section of Hamilton Township, Atlantic County, New Jersey, he received a BSc in 1890 from Swarthmore College and later studied forestry in Germany. He worked as an associate professor at Cornell University. In 1902 he moved to Miami, Florida's Coconut Grove neighborhood and became an entrepreneur and land developer. He was an ardent supporter of draining the Everglades and started experimenting by planting Cajeput trees. He wrote articles for the Miami Herald'''s Tropic magazine. He wrote The Everglades and other essays relating to southern Florida (1911).