About: Bussey Institution

The Bussey Institute (1883–1936) was a respected biological institute at Harvard University. It was named for Benjamin Bussey, who, in 1835, endowed the establishment of an undergraduate school of agriculture and horticulture and donated land in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts that became the Arnold Arboretum. Bussey, a silversmith, had bought the land from the Weld family in 1806, and built a mansion in 1815. When he died, he left 300 acres (1.2 km2) to Harvard. By 1871 the Bussey Institute had been built.