Albert Ernest Radford (January 25, 1918 – April 12, 2006) was an American

botanist 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 ...

active in the

Southeastern United States The Southeastern United States, also known as the American Southeast or simply the Southeast, is a geographical List of regions in the United States, region of the United States located in the eastern portion of the Southern United States and t ...

. He was best known for his work as senior author of ''Manual of the Vascular Flora of the Carolinas'', the definitive

flora Flora (: floras or florae) is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous (ecology), indigenous) native plant, native plants. The corresponding term for animals is ''fauna'', and for f ...

for

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

and

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

Biography

Radford was born in

Augusta, Georgia Augusta is a city on the central eastern border of the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. The city lies directly across the Savannah River from North Augusta, South Carolina at the head of its navigable portion. Augusta, the third mos ...

to Albert and Eloise Moseley Radford, one of nine children. He was educated at Junior College of Augusta,

Furman University Furman University is a private university in Greenville, South Carolina, United States. Founded in 1826 and named after Baptist pastor Richard Furman, the Liberal arts college, liberal arts university is the oldest private institution of higher l ...

(B.S., 1939) and the

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC, UNC–Chapel Hill, or simply Carolina) is a public university, public research university in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States. Chartered in 1789, the university first began enrolli ...

(Ph.D., 1948). He served in the 51st Engineer Combat Battalion of the United States Army during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and saw action in North Africa and Europe, including the

Battle of the Bulge The Battle of the Bulge, also known as the Ardennes Offensive or Unternehmen Die Wacht am Rhein, Wacht am Rhein, was the last major German Offensive (military), offensive Military campaign, campaign on the Western Front (World War II), Western ...

, for which his battalion was awarded the Croix de Guerre. He and his wife (married 1941), Laurie Stewart Radford (1910–2004), had three children, David, John, and Linda. Albert was Professor of Botany at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill for forty years and director of the University of North Carolina Herbarium for 23 years. Professionally, he served as President of the Elisha Mitchell Scientific Society and of the Southern Appalachian Botanical Club. Besides his academic work in botany, he was active in

conservation Conservation is the preservation or efficient use of resources, or the conservation of various quantities under physical laws. Conservation may also refer to: Environment and natural resources * Nature conservation, the protection and manage ...

of natural areas in the

. One of his most significant accomplishments was the discovery of an unusual plant community which has since become protected as

Steven's Creek Heritage Preserve Steven's Creek Heritage Preserve is a nature preserve in the US State of South Carolina. It is managed by the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources. It covers in McCormick County and Edgefield County, and was established to protect rare ...

. Among his students was ethnobotanist James A. Duke. His grandson

Phil Radford Philip David Radford (born January 2, 1976) is an American consumer and conservation leader, currently serving as the President and CEO of Consumer Reports, a nonpartisan nonprofit organization that works with consumers to foster truth, transpare ...

, served as the youngest executive director of Greenpeace, from 2009 to 2014.

Works

* * * * *

References

* Burk, William R. and Alan S. Weakley (2006). Albert E. Radford-A Tribute. ''Castanea'', September, 2006 (available fro
FindArticles
.

—article on Albert Radford, accessed 4 May 2006

—article on Laurie Stewart Radford, accessed 4 May 2006
North Carolina Botanical Garden
��accessed 4 May 2006
Columbia, Missouri, ''Missourian''
��obituary, accessed 4 May 2006 {{DEFAULTSORT:Radford, Albert Ernest 1918 births 2006 deaths American botanists Furman University alumni University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill alumni University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill faculty People from Augusta, Georgia