Charles Edwin Bessey (21 May 1845 – 25 February 1915) was an American

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 ...

Biography

He was born at

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Wayne County, Ohio Wayne County is a county in the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 116,894. Its county seat is Wooster. The county is named for General "Mad" Anthony Wayne. Wayne County comprises the Wooster, OH Micropolitan St ...

. He graduated in 1869 at the

Michigan Agricultural College Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the first of its kind in the United States. It i ...

. Bessey also studied at

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

under

Asa Gray Asa Gray (November 18, 1810 – January 30, 1888) is considered the most important American botanist of the 19th century. His ''Darwiniana'' was considered an important explanation of how religion and science were not necessarily mutually excl ...

, in 1872 and in 1875–76. He was

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who pr ...

of botany at the

Iowa Agricultural College Iowa State University of Science and Technology (Iowa State University, Iowa State, or ISU) is a public land-grant research university in Ames, Iowa. Founded in 1858 as the Iowa Agricultural College and Model Farm, Iowa State became one of the n ...

, today known as Iowa State University from 1870 to 1884. In 1884, he was appointed professor of botany at the

University of Nebraska A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, the ...

and became head

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there in 1909. He also served as Chancellor of the University of Nebraska from 1888 to 1891 and again from 1899 to 1900.RG05, Chancellor records
, UNL Archives and Special Collections. Retrieved on July 10, 2009. He served as

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

of the

American Association for the Advancement of Science The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is an American international non-profit organization with the stated goals of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific respons ...

in 1911. Bessey's son,

Ernst Bessey Ernst Athearn Bessey (February 20, 1877 – July 17, 1957) was an American mycologist, botanist and plant pathologist who served as professor of mycology and botany and dean of the graduate school at Michigan State University. He was the son of an ...

was Professor of Mycology and Botany at

Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the fi ...

Selected publications

Books

* ''The Geography of Iowa'' (Cincinnati, 1878) * ''Botany for High Schools and Colleges'' (New York, 1880) * revision of McNab's ''Botany'' (1881) * ''The Essentials of Botany'' (1884) * ''Elementary Botany'' (1904) * ''Plant Migration Studies'' (1905) * ''Synopsis of Plant Phyla'' (1907) * ''Outlines of Plant Phyla'' (1909) * written with others, ''New Elementary

Agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...

'' (ninth edition, 1911)

Articles

* *

Legacy

His arrangement of

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...

taxa In biology, a taxon (back-formation from ''taxonomy''; plural taxa) is a group of one or more populations of an organism or organisms seen by taxonomists to form a unit. Although neither is required, a taxon is usually known by a particular nam ...

, with focus on the evolutionary divergence of primitive forms, is considered by many as the system most likely to form the basis of a modern, comprehensive taxonomy of the plant kingdom. In 1967, Iowa State University built a Plant Industry Building, which was named after Bessey. Today the building is used by departments in the biological sciences. In 2009 he was inducted to the Nebraska Hall of Fame.

References

Bibliography

* * *Overfield, Richard A. ''Science With Practice: Charles E. Bessey and the Maturing of American Botany''. Iowa State University Press Series in the History of Technology and Science. Iowa State Press, 1993. () *Pool, Raymond J
''A brief sketch of the life and work of Charles Edwin Bessey''
Botanical Society of America, 1915. *Tobey, Ronald C. 1981. Saving the Prairies: The Life Cycle of the Founding School of American Plant Ecology, 1895-1955. Berkeley: University of California Press. () *

External links

*

at the

Iowa State University Iowa State University of Science and Technology (Iowa State University, Iowa State, or ISU) is a public land-grant research university in Ames, Iowa. Founded in 1858 as the Iowa Agricultural College and Model Farm, Iowa State became one of the n ...

Library. Retrieved on July 10, 2009.
Charles Bessey papers
at the

University of Nebraska-Lincoln A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

. Retrieved on October 13, 2009. {{DEFAULTSORT:Bessey, Charles Edwin 1845 births 1915 deaths American science writers American botanists American botanical writers American male non-fiction writers Michigan State University alumni Harvard University alumni Iowa State University faculty University of Nebraska–Lincoln faculty People from Wayne County, Ohio Chancellors of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln