Robert Almer Harper (January 21, 1862 – May 12, 1946) was an American botanist. The younger brother of Edward Thompson Harper, Robert was born in

Le Claire, Iowa LeClaire is a city in Scott County, Iowa, United States. The population was 4,710 in 2020, a 65.4% increase from 2,847 in 2000, making it one of the fastest-growing communities in the Quad Cities. LeClaire is considered a suburb and part of the ...

to Congressional Minister Almer Harper and Eunice Thompson. The family moved to

Port Byron, Illinois Port Byron is a village in Rock Island County, Illinois, United States and part of the Quad Cities Metropolitan Area. The population was 1,647 at the 2010 census. Geography Port Byron is located at (41.618051, -90.332789). According to the 201 ...

in 1863, where Robert attended local schools. He matriculated to

Oberlin College Oberlin College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college and conservatory of music in Oberlin, Ohio. It is the oldest Mixed-sex education, coeducational liberal arts college in the United S ...

, his father's alma mater, where he graduated with a A. B. in 1886. During the Fall of 1886 he performed graduate studies at

Johns Hopkins University Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hem ...

, then he was professor of Greek and Latin at Gates College in

Neligh, Nebraska Neligh is a city and county seat in Antelope County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 1,599 at the 2010 census. History In 1872, John D. Neligh and a few of his friends took a trip up the Elkhorn River from West Point, Nebraska. ...

during 1886–88. In 1889–91 he was an instructor at the

Lake Forest Academy Lake Forest Academy (also known as LFA) is a co-educational college preparatory school for boarding and day students in grades 9 through 12. The school is located on the North Shore in Lake Forest, Illinois, United States, about 30 miles north o ...

. After receiving his A. M. degree from Oberlin, he was appointed professor of botany and geology in 1891–98 at

Lake Forest University Lake Forest College is a private liberal arts college in Lake Forest, Illinois. Founded in 1857 as Lind University by a group of Presbyterian ministers, the college has been coeducational since 1876 and an undergraduate-focused liberal arts inst ...

. During the period 1894 to 1896, took a sabbatical to attend graduate school at the

University of Bonn The Rhenish Friedrich Wilhelm University of Bonn (german: Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn) is a public research university located in Bonn, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It was founded in its present form as the ( en, Rhine U ...

in Germany where he studied cytology and mycology; he was awarded a Ph.D. in 1896. Harper became Professor of Botany 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 1898, where he taught until 1911. On June 25, 1899, he was married to Alice Jean McQueen; she died in 1909. After a stint as visiting professor at the

University of California The University of California (UC) is a public land-grant research university system in the U.S. state of California. The system is composed of the campuses at Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, Los Angeles, Merced, Riverside, San Diego, San Francisco, ...

in 1911, he was named Torrey Professor of Botany at

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

, becoming head of the botany department. The same year, Professor Harper was named a fellow of the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and ...

. A member of the

Torrey Botanical Club Torrey Botanical Society (formerly Torrey Botanical Club) was started in the 1860s by colleagues of John Torrey. It is the oldest botanical society in the Americas. The Society promotes the exploration and study of plant life, with particular ...

since 1911, he was named president during 1914–16. He served as president of the

Botanical Society of America The Botanical Society of America (BSA) represents professional and amateur botanists, researchers, educators and students in over 80 countries of the world. It functions as a United States nonprofit 501(c)(3) membership society. History The soci ...

in 1916. Harper remarried in 1918 to Helen Sherman; they had one son, who became a farmer in

Bedford, Virginia Bedford is an incorporated town and former Independent city (United States)#Virginia, independent city located within Bedford County, Virginia, Bedford County in the U.S. state of Virginia. It serves as the county seat of Bedford County. As of the ...

. Beginning in 1918, he served as head of the board of scientific directors for the

New York Botanical Garden The New York Botanical Garden (NYBG) is a botanical garden at Bronx Park in the Bronx, New York City. Established in 1891, it is located on a site that contains a landscape with over one million living plants; the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory, ...

. He was named professor emeritus in 1930, then in 1938 he retired to a farm in Bedford. During his career he was awarded honorary doctorates from Columbia University and the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

Bibliography

He published the following works: * ''Opuscula'', 1895 * ''Beitrag zur Kenntniss der Kerntheilung und Sporenbildung'', 1896 * ''Die Entwickelung des Peritheciums bei Sphaerotheca Castagnei'', 1896 * ''Ueber das Verhalten der Kerne bei der Fruchtentwickelung einiger Ascomyceten'', 1896 * ''Kerntheilung und freie Zellbildung'', 1897 * ''Cell-division in Sporangia and Asci'', 1899 * ''Cell and Nuclear division in Fuligo varians'', 1900 * ''Binucleate cells in certain Hymenomycetes'', 1902 * ''Nuclear divisions and nuclear fusion in Coloesporium sonchi-arvensis'', 1903, with R. J. Holden * ''Hamilton Greenwood Timberlake'', 1904 * ''Sexual Reproduction and the Organization of the Nucleus in Certain Mildews'', 1905 * ''Sex-determining factors in plants'', 1907 * ''The Organization of Certain Coenobic Plants'', 1908 * ''Nuclear phenomena of sexual reproduction in fungi'', 1910 * ''The structure and development of the colony in Gonium'', 1912 * ''Some current conceptions of the germ plasm'', 1912 * ''Cleavage in Didymium mclanospermum'', 1914 * ''Physical factors in cleavage of coenocytes'', 1914 * ''Starchy and sugary foods'', 1914 * ''On the nature of types in Pediastrum'', 1916 * ''Organization reproduction and inheritance in Pediastrum'', 1918 * ''The evolution of cell types and contact and pressure responses in Pediastrum'', 1918 * ''Binary fission and surface tension in the development of the colony in Volvox'', 1918 * ''The structure of protoplasm'', 1919 * ''Inheritance of sugar and starch characters in corn'', 1920 * ''The Stimulation of Research after the War'', 1920 * ''The species concept from the point of view of a morphologist'', 1923 * ''Cytology'', 1924 * ''Morphogenesis in Dictyostelium'', 1926 * ''Significance of taxonomic units and their natural basis'', 1929 * ''Morphogenesis in Polysphondylium'', 1929 * ''The nature and functions of plastids, especially elaioplasts'', 1929 * ''Organization and light relations in Polysphondylium'', 1932 * ''Plant Science in the Service of Art'', 1933

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Harper, Robert Almer 1862 births 1946 deaths People from Le Claire, Iowa American botanists Oberlin College alumni University of Bonn alumni People from Rock Island County, Illinois