Gilbert Morgan Smith (6 January 1885,

Beloit, Wisconsin Beloit is a city in Rock County, Wisconsin, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 36,657 people. History Twelve men in Colebrook, New Hampshire, created the "New England Emigrating Company" in October 1836 and sent ...

– 11 July 1959) was a

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 ...

and phycologist, who worked primarily on the

algae Algae (; singular alga ) is an informal term for a large and diverse group of photosynthetic eukaryotic organisms. It is a polyphyletic grouping that includes species from multiple distinct clades. Included organisms range from unicellular mic ...

. He was best known for his books, particularly the ''Freshwater Algae of the United States'', the ''Marine Algae of the Monterey Peninsula'' and the two volumes of ''

Cryptogam A cryptogam (scientific name Cryptogamae) is a plant (in the wide sense of the word) or a plant-like organism that reproduces by spores, without flowers or seeds. The name ''Cryptogamae'' () means "hidden reproduction", referring to the fact ...

ic Botany''.

Career

Smith was born on 6 January 1885 to Elizabeth Mayher Smith and Erastus G. Smith in Beloit, Wisconsin, where his father was Professor of Chemistry at the

College A college (Latin: ''collegium'') is an educational institution or a constituent part of one. A college may be a degree-awarding tertiary educational institution, a part of a collegiate or federal university, an institution offering ...

. His parents were both born in Massachusetts and educated there, at

Mt. Holyoke College Mount Holyoke College is a Private college, private liberal arts college, liberal arts Women's colleges in the United States, women's college in South Hadley, Massachusetts. It is the oldest member of the historic Seven Sisters (colleges), Seve ...

and

Amherst College Amherst College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Amherst, Massachusetts. Founded in 1821 as an attempt to relocate Williams College by its then-president Zephaniah Swift Moore, Amherst is the third oldest institution of higher educatio ...

respectively. Smith attended Beloit College, where he concentrated on

botany 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 w ...

and

chemistry Chemistry is the science, scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a natural science that covers the Chemical element, elements that make up matter to the chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules and ions ...

, and graduated in 1907. He taught science at the high school in

Stoughton, Wisconsin Stoughton is a city in Dane County, Wisconsin, United States. It straddles the Yahara River about 20 miles southeast of the state capital, Madison. Stoughton is part of the Madison Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2020 census, the populati ...

for the next two years, before beginning graduate studies at the

University of Wisconsin 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 ...

in 1909, where he started work on the algal genus '' Oedogonium''. He interrupted his studies for a one-year teaching appointment at

Pomona College Pomona College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Claremont, California. It was established in 1887 by a group of Congregationalists who wanted to recreate a "college of the New England type" in Southern California. In 1925, it became ...

in 1910-1911. In 1913 he completed his PhD and also married Helen Pfuderer. He remained in the Botany Department at Wisconsin, where he continued to work on algae, especially

desmids Desmidiales, commonly called desmids (''Gr.'' ''desmos'', bond or chain), are an order in the Charophyta, a division of green algae in which the land plants (Embryophyta) emerged. Or in other words, Desmid, (order Desmidiales), order of singl ...

, eventually reaching the position of associate professor. He was invited to

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

for 1923-1924, and in 1925 became Professor of Botany there. In 1924 he wrote together with his colleagues a botany textbook, '' A textbook of general botany'', which gives a broad introduction to the various elements and concepts of general botany. In 1950 he became

Emeritus ''Emeritus'' (; female: ''emerita'') is an adjective used to designate a retired chair, professor, pastor, bishop, pope, director, president, prime minister, rabbi, emperor, or other person who has been "permitted to retain as an honorary title ...

Professor, but remained scientifically active until his death on 11 July 1959.

Eponymy

Several species and genera of algae have been named in honor of Gilbert M. Smith: * '' Gilbertsmithia'' M.O.P. Iyengar * '' Smithiella'' B.P. Skvortsov * '' Smithimastix'' B.P. Skvortsov * '' Smithora'' G.J. Hollenberg * '' Hymenena smithii'' Kylin * '' Gymnogongrus smithii'' Taylor * '' Pseudostaurastrum smithii'' Bourrelly * '' Chlamydomonas smithiana'' Pascher * '' Dactylococcopsis smithii'' R. & F. Chodat * '' Tetradesmus smithii'' Prescott * '' Debarya smithii'' Transeau * '' Gloeochloris smithiana'' Pascher * '' Polysiphonia flaccidissima var. smithii'' Hollenberg

References

External links

* G. M. Smith (1938)
Cryptogamic Botany, vol. 1
McGraw-Hill, New York. * G. M. Smith (1955)
Cryptogamic Botany, vol. 2
McGraw-Hill, New York. 2nd ed. {{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Gilbert Morgan American botanists Beloit College alumni 1885 births 1959 deaths People from Beloit, Wisconsin American phycologists Stanford University faculty Pomona College faculty

Career

Eponymy

See also

References

External links