Herbert Hice Whetzel (September 5, 1877 – November 30, 1944) was an American

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 ...

and

mycologist Mycology is the branch of biology concerned with the study of fungus, fungi, including their genetics, genetic and biochemistry, biochemical properties, their Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy and ethnomycology, their use to humans, including as a so ...

. As a Professor of Plant Pathology, he led the first department of Plant Pathology at an American university and founded the Cornell Plant Pathology Herbarium (CUP).

Personal Background and Education

H.H. Whetzel was born near

Avilla, Indiana Avilla is a town in Allen Township, Noble County, in the U.S. state of Indiana. The population was 2,401 at the 2010 census. History A post office has been in operation at Avilla since 1846. According to Ronald L. Baker, the town may be named ...

, where he spent his boyhood on the family farm. A nature lover and collector from an early age, he taught school for 2 years after graduating high school, then earned a bachelor's degree at

Wabash College Wabash College is a private liberal arts men's college in Crawfordsville, Indiana. Founded in 1832 by several Dartmouth College graduates and Midwestern leaders, it enrolls nearly 900 students. The college offers an undergraduate liberal arts cur ...

. After graduating from

in 1902, he attended graduate school at

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...

, where he studied under the prominent mycologist George F. Atkinson. In 1904 he married Lucy E. Baker. They had two children, Joseph and Gertrude; Lucy died in 1912. In 1914 he married Lucy's sister Bertha A. Baker, and they raised the children together in Ithaca, New York.

Career

While still working on his doctoral research, Whetzel was hired by

Liberty Hyde Bailey Liberty Hyde Bailey (March 15, 1858 – December 25, 1954) was an American horticulturist and reformer of rural life. He was cofounder of the American Society for Horticultural Science.Makers of American Botany, Harry Baker Humphrey, Ronald Press ...

to do extension work for Cornell's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. In 1906, Whetzel was appointed assistant professor of botany, and in 1907, he became the head professor of the newly create
Department of Plant Pathology
A quirk of Cornell's rules prevented him from officially receiving his PhD, but he was later awarded honorary D.Sc. degrees from

and the

University of Puerto Rico The University of Puerto Rico ( es, Universidad de Puerto Rico, UPR) is the main public university system in the U.S. Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. It is a government-owned corporation with 11 campuses and approximately 58,000 students and 5,3 ...

. His students included M.F. Barrus and Charles Chupp, who both went on to teach at Cornell and who shared Whetzel's conviction of the importance of extension work as well as Carlos E. Chardón, who became a government minister and Chancellor of the

. Whetzel studied

sclerotium A sclerotium (; (), is a compact mass of hardened fungal mycelium containing food reserves. One role of sclerotia is to survive environmental extremes. In some higher fungi such as ergot, sclerotia become detached and remain dormant until favo ...

-producing cup fungi, and published a

monograph A monograph is a specialist work of writing (in contrast to reference works) or exhibition on a single subject or an aspect of a subject, often by a single author or artist, and usually on a scholarly subject. In library cataloging, ''monograph ...

of genera in the family

Sclerotiniaceae The Sclerotiniaceae are a family of fungi in the order Helotiales. Many species in this family are plant pathogens. Genera * '' Asterocalyx'' * ''Botryotinia'' * '' Botrytis'' * '' Ciboria'' * ''Ciborinia'' * '' Coprotinia'' * '' Cudoniopsis'' ...

. He was a charter member of the American Phytopathological Society, authored more than 300 publications, and was instrumental in founding and developing th
Cornell Plant Pathology Herbarium (CUP)
, where his fungus collections are stored. He was a pioneer in documenting the fungi of Puerto Rico (1916) and Bermuda (1920-1921). Whetzel died in

Ithaca, New York Ithaca is a city in the Finger Lakes region of New York, United States. Situated on the southern shore of Cayuga Lake, Ithaca is the seat of Tompkins County and the largest community in the Ithaca metropolitan statistical area. It is named a ...

at the age of 67. He had resided in the Forest Home area of Ithaca for over 30 years.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Whetzel, Herbert Hice 1877 births 1944 deaths American phytopathologists American mycologists People from Noble County, Indiana Cornell University College of Agriculture and Life Sciences alumni Cornell University faculty Wabash College alumni

Personal Background and Education

Career

See also

References