Alice Crane Haskins Swingle (1880-1971) was an American government

botanist Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek wo ...

. With her husband, botanist Deane Bret Swingle (1879–1944), she co-authored the 1928 book ''A Textbook of Systematic Botany''.Swingle, Deane B., with Alice H. Swingle (1928). ''A Textbook of Systematic Botany.'' McGraw-Hill

Life and career

Haskins was born on 24 April 1880, in Acton, Massachusetts to Helen A. Crane and John R. Haskins. She graduated with a bachelor's degree from

Smith College Smith College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts Women's colleges in the United States, women's college in Northampton, Massachusetts. It was chartered in 1871 by Sophia Smith (Smith College ...

in 1903. Haskins worked as a research assistant in the Plant Pathology Laboratory of the United States Department of Agriculture from 1903 to 1906.

Erwin Frink Smith Erwin Frink Smith (January 21, 1854 – April 6, 1927) was an American plant pathologist with the United States Department of Agriculture. He played a major role in demonstrating that bacteria could cause plant disease. Life and career Smith w ...

, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's

plant pathologist Plant pathology (also phytopathology) is the scientific study of diseases in plants caused by pathogens (infectious organisms) and environmental conditions (physiological factors). Organisms that cause infectious disease include fungus, fung ...

-in-charge, regularly employed women botanists in the Bureau of Plant Industry to study plant diseases. Haskins was among the group, which included

Nellie A. Brown Nellie Adalesa Brown (1876–1956) was an American botanist and government researcher. Much of her research focused on plant pathology. While working with Charles Orrin Townsend and Agnes J. Quirk as assistants for Erwin Frink Smith, Brown ...

Clara H. Hasse Clara Henriette Hasse (1880 – 10 October 1926) was an American botanist whose research focused on plant pathology. She is known for identifying the cause of citrus canker, which was threatening crops in the Deep South. Biography Hasse attend ...

Florence Hedges Florence Hedges (August 24, 1878 – December 17, 1956Ainsworth, Geoffrey Clough (1981). ''Introduction to the History of Plant Pathology.'' Cambridge University Press, ) was a pioneering American plant pathologist and botanist with the United St ...

Agnes J. Quirk Agnes J. Quirk (1884–1974) was an American bacteriologist, plant pathologist, and inventor. She oversaw the culturing of bacteria in the Laboratory of Plant Pathology at the United States Department of Agriculture's Bureau of Plant Industry.Pad ...

, Della Watkins, and

Mary K. Bryan Mary Katherine Bryan (February 13, 1877 – February 22, 1962) was an American botanist and phytopathologist. Harvey, Joy; Ogilvie, Marilyn (2000). ''The Biographical Dictionary of Women in Science: Pioneering Lives from Ancient Times to the ...

working on such agricultural problems as

crown galls A crown is a traditional form of head adornment, or hat, worn by monarchs as a symbol of their power and dignity. A crown is often, by extension, a symbol of the monarch's government or items endorsed by it. The word itself is used, partic ...

, citrus cankers, and corn and

chestnut blight The pathogenic fungus ''Cryphonectria parasitica'' (formerly ''Endothia parasitica'') is a member of the Ascomycota (sac fungi). This necrotrophic fungus is native to East Asia and South East Asia and was introduced into Europe and North America ...

. In 1906, she married Swingle, a fellow botanist and laboratory colleague, then moved to

Bozeman, Montana Bozeman is a city and the county seat of Gallatin County, Montana, United States. Located in southwest Montana, the 2020 census put Bozeman's population at 53,293, making it the fourth-largest city in Montana. It is the principal city of th ...

, where Swingle became Professor of Botany and Bacteriology at Montana State College of Agriculture (later

Montana State University Montana State University (MSU) is a Public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Bozeman, Montana. It is the state's largest university. MSU offers baccalaureate degrees in 60 fields, master's degrees in 6 ...

). Haskins died on 16 October 1971, in Santa Clara, California.

References

External links

Alice Haskins
via Smithsonian Institution Smith College alumni American botanists 1880 births 1971 deaths Montana State University faculty United States Department of Agriculture people 20th-century American women scientists American women academics {{US-botanist-stub

Life and career

References

Further reading

External links