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

Southeastern United States The Southeastern United States, also referred to as the American Southeast or simply the Southeast, is a geographical region of the United States. It is located broadly on the eastern portion of the southern United States and the southern po ...

. 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 state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia a ...

and

South Carolina )'' Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = "Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = G ...

Biography

Radford was born in

Augusta, Georgia Augusta ( ), officially Augusta–Richmond County, is a consolidated city-county on the central eastern border of the U.S. state of Georgia. The city lies across the Savannah River from South Carolina at the head of its navigable portion. Georg ...

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 liberal arts university in Greenville, South Carolina. Founded in 1826 and named for the clergyman Richard Furman, Furman University is the oldest private institution of higher learning in South Carolina. It beca ...

(B.S., 1939) and the

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase ''universitas magistrorum et scholarium'', which r ...

(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, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

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, was the last major German offensive campaign on the Western Front during World War II. The battle lasted from 16 December 1944 to 28 January 1945, towards the end of the war in ...

, 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 Elisha Mitchell (August 19, 1793 – June 27, 1857) was an American educator, geologist and Presbyterian minister. His geological studies led to the identification of North Carolina's Mount Mitchell as the highest peak east of the Mississippi Rive ...

Scientific Society and of the Southern Appalachian Botanical Club. Besides his academic work in botany, he was active in conservation 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 rar ...

. Among his students was ethnobotanist

James A. Duke James A. Duke (4 April 1929 – 10 December 2017) was an American botanist. He was the author of numerous publications on botanical medicine, including the '' CRC Handbook of Medicinal Herbs''. He was well known for his 1997 bestseller, ''The Green ...

. His grandson

Phil Radford Philip David Radford (born January 2, 1976) is an American activist who served as the executive director of Greenpeace USA. He is the founder and President of Progressive Power Lab, an organization that incubates companies and non-profits that bu ...

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

Works

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References

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