American botanist (1799–1848).
William Oakes (July 1, 1799 – July 31, 1848) was an American botanist. William Oakes was born on July 1, 1799. He attended Harvard from 1816 and developed an interest in natural history under the guidance of his tutor, William Dandridge Peck. After graduation in 1820, Oakes studied law and then, from 1824, began a legal practice in Ipswich, Massachusetts. Oakes was among the first travelers on a path to the summit of Mount Washington, New Hampshire, that had been constructed in 1821 by the pioneering Ethan Crawford. He came to know Crawford well during his numerous subsequent visits to the Whi