Benjamin Minge Duggar (September 1, 1872 – September 10, 1956) was an American plant physiologist. Surprisingly, he is best remembered for his contribution to another discipline, through his discovery in 1945 of

chlortetracycline Chlortetracycline (trade name Aureomycin, Lederle Laboratories) is a tetracycline antibiotic, the first tetracycline to be identified. It was discovered in 1945 at Lederle Laboratories under the supervision of Yellapragada Subbarow and Benjamin ...

(Aureomycin), the first of the tetracycline antibiotics, from a soil bacterium growing in farmland.

Biography

Benjamin Minge Duggar was born at Gallion, Hale County,

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

on September 1, 1872. He studied at several Southern schools, including the

University of Alabama The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, the Capstone, or Bama) is a Public university, public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of ...

(1887-1889), Mississippi A & M College (B.S., 1891), and

Alabama Polytechnic Institute Auburn University (AU or Auburn) is a public land-grant research university in Auburn, Alabama, United States. With more than 26,800 undergraduate students, over 6,100 post-graduate students, and a total enrollment of more than 34,000 students ...

(M.S., 1892); at

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher lear ...

and

Cornell Cornell University is a private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson White in 1865. Since ...

(Ph.D., 1898) and in Europe. As a specialist in

botany Botany, also called plant science, is the branch of natural science and biology studying plants, especially Plant anatomy, their anatomy, Plant taxonomy, taxonomy, and Plant ecology, ecology. A botanist or plant scientist is a scientist who s ...

, he held various positions in experiment stations and colleges until 1901, when he was appointed physiologist in the Bureau of Plant Industry,

United States Department of Agriculture The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is an executive department of the United States federal government that aims to meet the needs of commercial farming and livestock food production, promotes agricultural trade and producti ...

. He was

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...

of botany at the

University of Missouri The University of Missouri (Mizzou or MU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri, United States. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus Univers ...

from 1902 to 1907 and spent a sabbatical at institutions in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

, and

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

(1905-1906). From 1907 to 1912 Duggar held the

chair A chair is a type of seat, typically designed for one person and consisting of one or more legs, a flat or slightly angled seat and a back-rest. It may be made of wood, metal, or synthetic materials, and may be padded or upholstered in vario ...

of plant physiology at Cornell University. In 1912 he became a research professor of plant physiology at

Washington University Washington University in St. Louis (WashU) is a private research university in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Founded in 1853 by a group of civic leaders and named for George Washington, the university spans 355 acres across its Danforth ...

, working with the

Missouri Botanical Garden The Missouri Botanical Garden is a botanical garden located at 4344 Shaw Boulevard in St. Louis, Missouri. It is also known informally as Shaw's Garden for founder and philanthropy, philanthropist Henry Shaw (philanthropist), Henry Shaw. I ...

in St. Louis. From 1917 to 1919, he was acting professor of biological chemistry at the

Washington University School of Medicine Washington University School of Medicine (WashU Medicine) is the medical school of Washington University in St. Louis, located in the Central West End neighborhood of St. Louis, Missouri. Founded in 1891, the School of Medicine shares a ca ...

. In 1927 he left Washington University to become professor of botany at the

University of Wisconsin A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Uni ...

. Duggar published many articles and books on a wide range of topics including

mycology Mycology is the branch of biology concerned with the study of fungus, fungi, including their Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy, genetics, biochemistry, biochemical properties, and ethnomycology, use by humans. Fungi can be a source of tinder, Edible ...

, mushroom growing, and plant physiology and pathology. He wrote extensively on plant diseases including '' Ravenelia'', ''

Rhizoctonia ''Rhizoctonia'' is a genus of fungi in the family Ceratobasidiaceae. Species form thin, effused, corticioid basidiocarps (fruit bodies), but are most frequently found in their sterile, anamorph state. ''Rhizoctonia'' species are saprotrophic, ...

'', cotton root rot disease, crown gall, and particularly

tobacco mosaic virus Tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) is a positive-sense single-stranded RNA virus species in the genus '' Tobamovirus'' that infects a wide range of plants, especially tobacco and other members of the family Solanaceae. The infection causes characteris ...

. His comprehensive American textbook on plant pathology ''Fungous Diseases of Plants'' (1909') became a standard text on the topic. It was followed by the textbook ''Plant Physiology'' (1911) After becoming an Emeritus Professor, he continued to carry out research. One project was with Lederle Laboratories, part of

American Cyanamid American Cyanamid Company was an American manufacturing conglomerate. It began as a fertilizer company and added many additional lines of business before merging with American Home Products in 1994. The combined company sold off most of its di ...

, looking for a treatment for malaria based on a species of

Rhododendron ''Rhododendron'' (; : ''rhododendra'') is a very large genus of about 1,024 species of woody plants in the Ericaceae, heath family (Ericaceae). They can be either evergreen or deciduous. Most species are native to eastern Asia and the Himalayan ...

which he found at the

New York Botanical Gardens 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, ...

. Another project resulted in the discovery of ''Streptomyces aureus n. sp.'' a fungus producing a strong antibiotic. As a result of his work on

(Aureomycin), the first of the tetracycline antibiotics, he personally met with both the Pope and the Mikado of Japan. Duggar was vice 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 soc ...

in 1912 and 1914 and president in 1923. He also served as president of the

American Society of Plant Physiologists The American Society of Plant Biologists (ASPB) is a non-profit professional society for research and education in plant science with over 4,000 members world-wide. It was founded in 1924, as the American Society of Plant Physiologists (ASPP). Th ...

in 1947. Duggar died on September 10, 1956, in New Haven, Connecticut.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Duggar, Benjamin Minge People from Hale County, Alabama American science writers Auburn University alumni Harvard University alumni Cornell University College of Agriculture and Life Sciences alumni Cornell University faculty University of Missouri faculty 1872 births 1956 deaths Washington University in St. Louis faculty American plant physiologists Washington University School of Medicine faculty

Biography

See also

References