Lucia Alma McCulloch (February 26, 1873 – February 10, 1955) 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 ...

and

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 the United States Department of Agriculture Bureau of Plant Industry.Cattell, J. McKeen, Brimhall, Dean R., editors (1921). ''American Men of Science: A Biographical Directory.'' 3rd edition. Bowker /The Science Press (reprint), Her work focused on crown gall and gladiolus diseases and pests. A colleague in the department run by

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 ...

, she also collaborated with botanist Nellie Adalesa Brown.

Life and career

McCulloch was born in Cincinnati, Ohio. She was the daughter of Robert S. and Alma Taggart (

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...

Eveleth) McCulloch. In 1898, while studying biology at Florida Agricultural College, she was appointed head of the library, now part of the

George A. Smathers Libraries The George A. Smathers Libraries of the University of Florida constitute one of the largest university library systems in the United States. The system includes eight of the nine libraries of the University of Florida and provides primary support ...

.University of Florida
George A. Smathers Libraries History.
/ref> She received her Bachelor of Science degree there in 1902. She was forced to resign June 30, 1903, after the (newly named) University of Florida became an all-male school.T. H. Taliaferro, director, 1903. ''Florida Agricultural Experiment Station. Report for Financial Year Ending June 30, 1903''. Lake City, Fla.: University of Florida. Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, 6. She was a scientific assistant and laboratory plant pathologist at the Bureau of Plant Industry, Department of Agriculture, in Washington, DC, in 1907. She died in

Orlando, Florida Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County, Florida, Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Greater Orlando, Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, acco ...

.Staff report (12 February 1955). Miss Lucia McCollough bituary ''

Orlando Evening Star The ''Orlando Sentinel'' is the primary newspaper of Orlando, Florida, and the Central Florida region. It was founded in 1876 and is currently owned by Tribune Publishing Company. The ''Orlando Sentinel'' is owned by parent company, ''Tribune Pu ...

'', p. 11, col. 2.

References

External links

Lucia McCulloch (1873–1955)
via Smithsonian Institution 20th-century American botanists American phytopathologists Women phytopathologists 1873 births 1955 deaths Scientists from Cincinnati University of Florida alumni American women botanists United States Department of Agriculture people 20th-century American women scientists {{US-botanist-stub