Science & invention / Politics
Zina Pitcher
1797–1872 · physician, botanist, mayor of Detroit
Army surgeon and botanist who settled in Detroit, served twice as mayor (1840–1841 and 1843), helped build the University of Michigan and presided over the American Medical Association.
- Born
Sandy Hill (Hudson Falls), New York- Died
Detroit, Michigan
aged 74- Detroit years
- 1830s–1872
- Field
- Science & invention, Politics
01 / The Detroit story
The Detroit story
Zina Pitcher, a Middlebury-trained doctor, spent fourteen years as an Army surgeon on the frontier, rising to major and presiding over the Army Medical Board. A keen botanist, he collected plants around the Great Lakes, and the rare Pitcher's thistle of the dunes was named after him. After resigning in 1836 he settled in Detroit and entered civic life, serving as mayor in 1840–1841 and again in 1843. As a University of Michigan regent from 1837 to 1852, he helped shape the young school, bought Audubon's Birds of America for its library and pushed for its medical department. He was president of the American Medical Association in 1856–1857 and chaired its annual meeting in Detroit. He died in the city in 1872 and is buried at Elmwood. A Detroit elementary school carried his name until it closed in 2007, and a street at the University of Michigan medical campus still does.
Highlights
- Mayor of Detroit, 1840–1841 and 1843
- President of the American Medical Association, 1856–1857
- University of Michigan regent, 1837–1852
- Pitcher's thistle (Cirsium pitcheri) is named after him
02 / Their Detroit places
Their Detroit places 2
Where they lived, worked, performed and liked to hang out. Closed and demolished places stay here too, because they are part of the city's history.
Buried here · 1872
Elmwood Cemetery
He is buried at Elmwood Cemetery.
Memorial · until 2007
Dr. Zina Pitcher Elementary School
Demolished · 2007
Detroit public elementary school named after him; it closed in 2007 and was demolished in 2019.