Herbert Hice Whetzel (September 5, 1877 – November 30, 1944) was an American
plant pathologist
Plant pathology or phytopathology is the scientific study of plant diseases caused by pathogens (infectious organisms) and environmental conditions (physiological factors). Plant pathology involves the study of pathogen identification, disease ...
and
mycologist
Mycology is the branch of biology concerned with the study of fungi, including their taxonomy, genetics, biochemical properties, and use by humans. Fungi can be a source of tinder, food, traditional medicine, as well as entheogens, poison, and ...
. As a professor of plant pathology, he led the first department of plant pathology at an American university and founded the Cornell Plant Pathology Herbarium (CUP).
Background and education
H. H. Whetzel was born near
Avilla, Indiana
Avilla is a town in Allen Township, Noble County, in the U.S. state of Indiana. The population was 2,401 at the 2010 census.
History
A post office has been in operation at Avilla since 1846. According to Ronald L. Baker, the town may be name ...
, where he spent his boyhood on the family farm. A nature lover and Collector from an early age, he taught school for two years after graduating High school, then earned a Bachelor's Degree at
Wabash College
Wabash College is a private liberal arts men's college located in Crawfordsville, Indiana. Founded in 1832, by a group of Dartmouth College graduates and Midwestern leaders, the institution was originally named "The Wabash Teachers Seminary an ...
. After graduating from
Wabash College
Wabash College is a private liberal arts men's college located in Crawfordsville, Indiana. Founded in 1832, by a group of Dartmouth College graduates and Midwestern leaders, the institution was originally named "The Wabash Teachers Seminary an ...
in 1902, he attended graduate School at
Cornell University
Cornell University is a Private university, 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 W ...
, where he studied under the prominent Mycologist
George F. Atkinson. In 1904 he married Lucy E. Baker. They had two children, Joseph and Gertrude; Lucy died in 1912. In 1914 he married Lucy's sister Bertha A. Baker, and they raised the children together in Ithaca, New York.
Career
While still working on his Doctoral Research, Whetzel was hired by
Liberty Hyde Bailey
Liberty Hyde Bailey (March 15, 1858 – December 25, 1954) was an American Horticulture, horticulturist and reformer of rural life. He was cofounder of the American Society for Horticultural Science.Makers of American Botany, Harry Baker Humphrey ...
to do Extension work for Cornell's
College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.
In 1906, Whetzel was appointed Assistant Professor of Botany, and in 1907, he became the Head Professor of the newly created Department of Plant Pathology.
A quirk of Cornell's rules prevented him from officially receiving his PhD, but he was later awarded Honorary D.Sc. Degrees from
Wabash College
Wabash College is a private liberal arts men's college located in Crawfordsville, Indiana. Founded in 1832, by a group of Dartmouth College graduates and Midwestern leaders, the institution was originally named "The Wabash Teachers Seminary an ...
and the
University of Puerto Rico
The University of Puerto Rico (Spanish language, Spanish: ''Universidad de Puerto Rico;'' often shortened to UPR) is the main List of state and territorial universities in the United States, public university system in the Commonwealth (U.S. i ...
. His students included M. F. Barrus and Charles Chupp, who both went on to Teach at Cornell and who shared Whetzel's conviction of the Importance of Extension work
as well as
Carlos E. Chardón, who became a Government Minister and Chancellor of the University of Puerto Rico.
Whetzel studied
sclerotium
A sclerotium (; : sclerotia () is a compact mass of hardened fungal mycelium containing food reserves. One role of sclerotia is to survive environmental extremes. In some higher fungi such as ergot, sclerotia become detached and remain dormant u ...
-producing Cup Fungi, and published a
monograph
A monograph is generally a long-form work on one (usually scholarly) subject, or one aspect of a subject, typically created by a single author or artist (or, sometimes, by two or more authors). Traditionally it is in written form and published a ...
of genera in the family
Sclerotiniaceae
The Sclerotiniaceae are a family (biology), family of fungi in the order Helotiales. Many species in this family are plant pathogens.
Genera
* ''Asterocalyx''
* ''Botryotinia''
* ''Botrytis (fungus), Botrytis''
* ''Ciboria''
* ''Ciborinia''
* ...
. He was a charter member of the American Phytopathological Society, Authored more than 300 Publications, and was instrumental in Founding and Developing the Cornell Plant Pathology Herbarium (CUP), where his fungus collections are stored. He was a Pioneer in Documenting the Fungi of Puerto Rico (1916) and Bermuda (1920–1921). At the end of his life he issued the
Exsiccata
Exsiccata (Latin, ''gen.'' -ae, ''plur.'' -ae) is a work with "published, uniform, numbered set of preserved specimens distributed with printed labels". Typically, exsiccatae are numbered collections of dried herbarium Biological specimen, spe ...
like series ''Bermuda Fungi'', specimens no. 101 to no. 200 distributed by J. M. Waterston after his death.
Whetzel died in
Ithaca, New York
Ithaca () is a city in and the county seat of Tompkins County, New York, United States. Situated on the southern shore of Cayuga Lake in the Finger Lakes region of New York (state), New York, Ithaca is the largest community in the Ithaca metrop ...
, at the age of 67.
He had Resided in the
Forest Home area of Ithaca for over 30 years.
See also
*
List of mycologists
This is a non-exhaustive list of mycologists, or scientists with a specialisation in mycology, with their author abbreviations. Because the study of lichens is traditionally considered a branch of mycology, lichenologists are included in this li ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Whetzel, Herbert Hice
1877 births
1944 deaths
American phytopathologists
American mycologists
People from Noble County, Indiana
Cornell University College of Agriculture and Life Sciences alumni
Cornell University faculty
Wabash College alumni