Victor King Chesnut (June 28, 1867 – August 29, 1938) was an American botanist and chemist who pioneered the scientific study of poisonous plants in the United States.

Biography

Chesnut was born in Nevada City, California on June 28, 1867, the son of John Andrew Chesnut and Henrietta Sarah King. After graduating from Oakland high school, he matriculated at the University of California. He was awarded a B.S. in 1890 and became a chemistry assistant at the same institution for three years. For a brief period, he studied at the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...

, then was accepted as a botany assistant at the

United States Department of Agriculture The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is the United States federal executive departments, federal executive department responsible for developing and executing federal laws related to farming, forestry, rural economic development, ...

(USDA) in 1894. Initially, he was assistant to the chief in the department's office of botanical research. In November 1894, the department decided to undergo an investigation of poisonous plants, placing Chesnut in charge of this program. In 1898, Chesnut was the author of ''Principal Poisonous Plants of the United States''; a government report that was widely circulated and reprinted with illustrations. He was married to Olive Branch Spohr on July 18, 1899, at Berkeley, California. The couple would have four children: George Spohr (born 1900), Alma Etta (born 1902), Frank T. (born 1904), and Gertrude (born 1906). In 1901, he published a study titled ''The stock-poisoning plants of Montana'' in 1901, about the six species of plants that poisoned over 10,000 domestic animals in 1900. His ''Plants used by the Indians of Mendocino County, California'' was published in 1902. In 1904, he became a professor at the Montana College of Agriculture and Mechanical Arts, teaching chemistry and geology. During this time, he was a chemist at the Montana Experimental Station, and collaborated with the USDA on poisonous plant investigations. On July 1, 1907, he became a chemistry assistant for the USDA's Drug Laboratory, relocating to the Washington D. C. area. During his career, Chesnut served as president for the Washington chapter of the

American Chemical Society The American Chemical Society (ACS) is a scientific society based in the United States that supports scientific inquiry in the field of chemistry. Founded in 1876 at New York University, the ACS currently has more than 155,000 members at all d ...

and vice president of the

Washington Academy of Sciences Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...

. He retired from the USDA in 1933 and died on August 29, 1938.

Bibliography

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References

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* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Chesnut, Victor King 1867 births 1938 deaths People from Nevada City, California University of California alumni American botanists United States Department of Agriculture people Montana State University faculty