Frederick Law Olmsted, the prominent 19th-century landscape architect, was born on April 26, 1822. Olmsted's early life included studies in engineering and scientific farming after his eyesight prevented him from attending Yale University. His travels in England inspired his 1852 book, Walks and Talks of an American Farmer in England, leading to a journalism career. He reported on the slaveholding states for the New-York Daily Times, later published as A Journey in the Seaboard Slave States and other works, providing a detailed view of the pre-Civil War South, concluding that slavery harmed Southern society.
In the late 1850s, Olmsted turned to landscape architecture, becoming superintendent of New York City’s Central Park. Partnering with Calvert Vaux, their “Greensward” plan won the park's design competition in 1858, creating a pastoral landscape in the city. The project involved significant earthmoving and planting. Central Park opened in 1859, offering features like the Sheep Meadow and wooded paths.
During the Civil War, Olmsted served as CEO of the U.S. Sanitary Commission, organizing medical resources for the Union Army. He considered this his most significant public service. In 1863, he managed California’s Mariposa Estate gold mines and became a commissioner for Yosemite National Park, advocating for the preservation of natural landscapes for public benefit. His report on Niagara Falls also influenced its preservation as a public reserve.
Returning to New York, Olmsted and Vaux designed Prospect Park in Brooklyn, a park system in Buffalo, and the suburb of Riverside, Illinois. Establishing his own firm in 1882, Olmsted designed parks, campuses, and estates, including the U.S. Capitol grounds and the site for the 1893 World’s Columbian Exhibition. At the U.S. Capitol, Olmsted constructed marble terraces and planted thousands of trees and shrubs.
Suffering from a condition possibly related to Alzheimer’s disease, Olmsted retired and was confined to McLean Asylum, whose grounds he had designed. He died on August 23, 1903. Olmsted's work has had a lasting impact on landscape architecture, with his designs continuing to offer beauty and recreation.