William Louis "Bill" Culberson (April 5, 1929 in

Indianapolis, Indiana Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Mari ...

– February 8, 2003 in

Durham, North Carolina Durham ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the county seat of Durham County, North Carolina, Durham County. Small portions of the city limits extend into Orange County, North Carolina, Orange County and Wake County, North Carol ...

) was an American lichenologist.

Professional history

Culberson earned his bachelor's degree at 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 ...

, where he was influenced by E. Lucy Braun; he subsequently attended the

University of Paris , image_name = Coat of arms of the University of Paris.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of Arms , latin_name = Universitas magistrorum et scholarium Parisiensis , motto = ''Hic et ubique terrarum'' (Latin) , mottoeng = Here and a ...

and the

University of Wisconsin–Madison The University of Wisconsin–Madison (University of Wisconsin, Wisconsin, UW, UW–Madison, or simply Madison) is a public land-grant research university in Madison, Wisconsin. Founded when Wisconsin achieved statehood in 1848, UW–Madison ...

. In 1955, Culberson joined the botany department at

Duke University Duke University is a private research university in Durham, North Carolina. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco and electric power industrialist James ...

; he subsequently managed Duke's acquisition of the lichen-centric herbaria of Julien Harmand and

Johan Havaas Johan Johnsen Havaas (Havås) (19 October 1864–27 April 1956) was a farmer and botanist from Granvin in Hordaland. Early life and career Johan Havaas grew up on the farm Havås in Granvin and took an early interest in natural history and bot ...

. He served as the Hugo L. Blomquist Professor. In 2010, the lichen collection was officially named the William Louis & Chicita F. Culberson Lichen Herbarium & Library. 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 ...

and the

American Bryological and Lichenological 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 origina ...

and as director of the

Sarah P. Duke Gardens The Sarah P. Duke Gardens consist of approximately of landscaped and wooded areas at Duke University located in Durham, North Carolina. There are of allées, walks, and pathways throughout the gardens. The gardens are divided into four areas, t ...

. He was the first editor-in-chief of the journal ''

Systematic Botany Plant taxonomy is the science that finds, identifies, describes, classifies, and names plants. It is one of the main branches of taxonomy (the science that finds, describes, classifies, and names living things). Plant taxonomy is closely allied ...

''. In 1992, he became one of the first modern recipients of the

Acharius Medal __NOTOC__ The Acharius Medal is awarded by the International Association for Lichenology (IAL) for lifetime achievement in lichenology. The organization resolved at its 1990 meeting that it would simultaneously honor professional achievement and c ...

. In 2000, botanist Theodore Esslinger

circumscribed In geometry, the circumscribed circle or circumcircle of a polygon is a circle that passes through all the vertices of the polygon. The center of this circle is called the circumcenter and its radius is called the circumradius. Not every polyg ...

Culbersonia ''Culbersonia'' is a fungal genus in the family Caliciaceae. This is a monotypic genus, containing the single foliose lichen ''Culbersonia nubila'' (formerly called ''Culbersonia americana''). This species, which grows on trees and rocks, is foun ...

'', which is a fungal

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

in the family

Caliciaceae The Caliciaceae are a family of mostly lichen-forming fungi belonging to the class Lecanoromycetes in the division Ascomycota. Although the family has had its classification changed several times throughout its taxonomic history, the use of mode ...

and named in Bill Culberson and Chicita F. Culberson's honour, his "longtime friends and mentors".

Personal life

In 1953,Acharius Medallists: William Louis Culberson
at Lichenology.org; retrieved October 22, 2013 Dr. Culberson married fellow lichenologist Chicita F. Forman.

References

External links

*. {{DEFAULTSORT:Culberson, William Louis American lichenologists 1929 births 2003 deaths Acharius Medal recipients Botanical Society of America Duke University faculty University of Cincinnati alumni University of Paris alumni University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni Deaths from cancer in North Carolina People from Indianapolis 20th-century American botanists 21st-century American botanists American expatriates in France Fulbright alumni

Professional history

Personal life

See also

References

External links