Margaret Hannah Fulford (June 14, 1904 – November 28, 1999) was an American bryologist who was active in identifying the flora of

North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating Direction (geometry), direction or geography. Etymology T ...

and

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...

Biography

Fulford was born on June 14, 1904, in

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

. She subsequently attended the

University of Cincinnati The University of Cincinnati (UC or Cincinnati) is a public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio. Founded in 1819 as Cincinnati College, it is the oldest institution of higher education in Cincinnati and has an annual enrollment of over 44,00 ...

. She earned her BA in

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 ...

in 1926, BE in education in 1927, and returned for her MA in botany working under

Emma Lucy Braun E. Lucy Braun (April 19, 1889 – March 5, 1971) was a prominent botanist, ecologist, and expert on the forests of the eastern United States who was a professor of the University of Cincinnati. She was the first woman to be elected President o ...

in 1928. She then attended

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

to obtain her

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''l ...

under

Alexander William Evans Alexander William Evans (May 17, 1868 – December 6, 1959) was a botanist, bryologist, and mycologist that specialized in the flora of Connecticut. Early life Born in Buffalo, New York on May 17, 1868, Evan's family moved to New Haven, Conne ...

, which she accomplished in 1935. Meanwhile, she worked at the University of Cincinnati as a botany instructor from 1927 to 1940. She became assistant professor in 1940, associate professor in 1946, professor in 1954, and professor emerita in 1974. She remained with the university until her death. Fulford's focus was on morphology, ecology, and systematics of leafy hepatics. She intensely studied the reproduction and life cycle of the Hepaticae. She was a leading member of the

Sullivant Moss Society The American Bryological and Lichenological Society is an organization devoted to the scientific study of all aspects of the biology of bryophytes and lichen-forming fungi and is one of the nation's oldest botanical organizations. It was originall ...

, and was curator of the group's hepatics herbarium. Fulford was also a prominent bryology instructor at the

University of Michigan Biological Station The University of Michigan Biological Station (UMBS) is a research and teaching facility operated by the University of Michigan. It is located on the south shore of Douglas Lake in Cheboygan County, Michigan. The station consists of 10,000 acres ...

. Fulford's work was published in journals such as ''The Bryologist'', ''American Midland Naturalist'', ''Ohio Journal of Science'', ''Annales Bryologici'', ''Lloydia'', ''Torreya'', ''Revue Bryologie et Lichenologique'', and the ''Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club''. Throughout her career, she published over 70 scholarly articles.

Legacy

The Margaret H. Fulford Herbarium at the University of Cincinnati was founded by her in the early 1920s, for which she remained as curator for most of her career. Her personal collection of liverworts is housed within the herbarium. In 1992, botanist Stephan Robbert Gradstein published '' Fulfordianthus'', which is a genus of liverworts in the family

Lejeuneaceae Lejeuneaceae is the largest family of liverworts. Most of its members are epiphytes found in the tropics, while others can be found in temperate regions. The main characteristics of the family are that: #The leaves are incubous. #Amphigastrium ...

. It is found in central and southern America, and named in Fulford's honour.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fulford, Margaret Hannah 1904 births 1999 deaths American women botanists American botanists Burials at Spring Grove Cemetery Bryologists 20th-century American botanists 20th-century American women scientists University of Cincinnati alumni Yale University alumni University of Cincinnati faculty American women academics Women bryologists Scientists from Cincinnati Academics from Ohio