Clair Alan Brown (August 16, 1903 – March 24, 1982) was an American botanist who specialized in Louisiana flora.[1] He was a Louisiana State University faculty member from 1926 until his retirement in 1970.[2]

Clair Alan Brown
Born(1903-08-16)August 16, 1903
DiedMarch 24, 1982(1982-03-24) (aged 78)
EducationNew York State College of Forestry, University of Michigan
Children2
AwardsGuggenheim Fellowship (1952)
NSF Fellowship (1961)
Scientific career
FieldsBotany
InstitutionsLouisiana State University

Biography

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Brown was born in Port Allegany, Pennsylvania, to Charles Melvin and Jennie Burroughs Brown, one of four sons.[3][4][5] He earned his bachelor's degree cum laude from New York State College of Forestry in 1925 and his Master's in botany from the University of Michigan in 1926.[6][2] He began working at Louisiana State University (LSU) the following year before returning to the University of Michigan for his doctorate, which he completed in 1934.[4][2][6] His dissertation was titled Morphology and biology of some species of Odontia.[7] He took up his position at LSU again and taught botany, systematic botany, wood identification, dendrology, forest pathology, ecology, and palynology until his retirement in 1970.[2][4]

He held a number of leadership roles in international organizations throughout his career, including as president of the Southern Weed Control Conference in 1948;[8] as a delegate to the International Botanical Congress in 1950;[6] and as president of the American Fern Society in 1960.[9] He was also appointed to the International Committee on Palynology[6] and was president of honor at the 78th Société botanique de France.[citation needed] Among his awards were a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1952,[6] a National Science Foundation fellowship in 1961,[10] and an Edmund Niles Huyck Fellowship.[6] In 1973, he received a Louisiana Literary Award for his illustrated anthology Wildflowers of Louisiana and Adjoining States.[4]

Personal life

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Brown married Maude Nichols on September 4, 1926[citation needed] and they had two daughters, Sarah and Dorcas.[11][12] Maude and nineteen-year-old Sarah died in a car accident in April 1962.[13][12]

Brown died on March 24, 1982, in Baton Rouge.[5]

Selected publications

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The standard author abbreviation C.A.Br. is used to indicate this person as the author when citing a botanical name.[14]

  • With Donovan Stewart Correll (1908–1983) Ferns and Fern Allies Trees & Shrubs. 1942
  • Louisiana Trees & Shrubs. 1945
  • Vegetation of the Outer Banks of North Carolina. 1959
  • Palynological Techniques. 1960
  • Wildflowers of Louisiana & Adjoining States. Ed. Louisiana State University Press. 259 pp. ISBN 0-8071-0780-8, 1980

Sources

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  • Allen G. Debus (dir.) (1968). World Who's Who in Science. To Biographical Dictionary of Remarkable Scientists from Antiquity to the Present. Marquis-Who's Who (Chicago) : xvi 1855 pp.

References

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  1. ^ "Anthology of state's wildflowers". The Town Talk. Alexandria, Louisiana, USA. January 21, 1973. p. 36. Retrieved November 9, 2022 – via newspapers.com.
  2. ^ a b c d "Retiring LSU professor gets honor from national group". The Daily Advertiser. Lafayette, Louisiana, USA. August 21, 1970. p. 8. Retrieved November 9, 2022 – via newspapers.com.
  3. ^ "Charles M. Brown, Pt. Allegany, dies after long illness". The Bradford Era. Bradford, Pennsylvania, USA. April 30, 1952. p. 5 – via newspapers.com.
  4. ^ a b c d "Brown cited for book on wildflowers". The Times. Shreveport, Louisiana, USA. March 31, 1973. p. 2. Retrieved November 9, 2022 – via newspapers.com.
  5. ^ a b Burgess, Robert L. (1996). "American ecologists: A biographical bibliography" (PDF). Huntia. 10 (1): 19. PMID 11619260. Retrieved November 9, 2022.
  6. ^ a b c d e f "Greatest array of horticultural talent here for convention talks". Clarion-Ledger. Jackson, Mississippi, USA. May 3, 1959. p. 20. Retrieved November 9, 2022 – via newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "Morphology and biology of some species of Odontia". WorldCat. 1935. Retrieved November 9, 2022.
  8. ^ "News and Notes". Science. 108 (2813): 610–614. 1948. doi:10.1126/science.108.2813.610. JSTOR 1676700.
  9. ^ "American Fern Society". American Fern Journal. 50 (2): 209, 212. April 1960.
  10. ^ "Wins fellowship". The Times. Shreveport, Louisiana, USA. April 29, 1961. p. 19. Retrieved November 9, 2022 – via newspapers.com.
  11. ^ Wiggins, Ira L.; Wagner, Warren H.; McGregor, Ronald L.; Horr, W. H.; Duncan, Ellen S.; Faust, Mildred E.; Lommasson, R. C.; Luhr, Dorothea (January 1958). "American Fern Society". American Fern Journal. 48 (1): 62. JSTOR 1544901.
  12. ^ a b "Rites conducted for victims of accident". The Post-Standard. Syracuse, New York, USA. April 27, 1962. p. 33. Retrieved November 9, 2022 – via newspapers.com.
  13. ^ "Easter vacation ends in tragedy for two women". Daily World. Opelousas, Louisiana, USA. April 24, 1962. p. 1. Retrieved November 9, 2022 – via newspapers.com.
  14. ^ International Plant Names Index.  C.A.Br.