Herbert J. Webber
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Herbert John Webber (December 27, 1865 – January 18, 1946) was an American
plant physiologist Plant physiology is a subdiscipline of botany concerned with the functioning, or physiology, of plants. Plant physiologists study fundamental processes of plants, such as photosynthesis, respiration, plant nutrition, plant hormone functions, tropi ...
, professor emeritus of sub-tropical horticulture, first director of the
University of California Citrus Experiment Station The University of California Citrus Experiment Station is the founding unit of the University of California, Riverside campus in Riverside, California, United States. The station contributed greatly to the cultivation of the orange and the overall ...
, and the third curator of the
University of California Citrus Variety Collection The UCR Citrus Variety Collection (CVC) is one of the most important collections of citrus diversity in the world. It is used for research, plant breeding, and educational extension activities on the UC Riverside campus in Riverside, California. ...
. Webber was the author of several publications on horticulture, member of numerous professional horticultural and agricultural associations. He coined the word " clone" in 1903 and was the first to use it to describe a colony of organisms derived asexually from a single progenitor.


Early life

Webber was born in
Lawton, Michigan Lawton is a village in southeastern Van Buren County, Michigan, United States. The population was 1,900 at the 2010 census. History The Village of Lawton came into existence in 1848 when the Michigan Central Railroad reached this destination. ...
, on December 27, 1865, the only child of John Milton Webber and Rebecca Ann Bradt. In 1867, the family moved west to
Marshalltown, Iowa Marshalltown is a city in Marshall County, Iowa, and is the county seat of the county. With a population of 27,591 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the 16th largest city in the state. Marshalltown is home to the Iowa Vetera ...
, where they would remain for the next fifteen years before moving on to
Lincoln, Nebraska Lincoln is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Nebraska. The city covers and had a population of 291,082 as of the 2020 census. It is the state's List of cities in Nebraska, second-most populous city a ...
, in 1883. Webber attended Willow Hill School followed by the Albion Seminary for his primary school education. He obtained his Bachelor of Science degree in 1889, and his master's degree in 1890 from the
University of Nebraska A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...
. In 1900, he received his Ph.D. from
Washington University in St. Louis 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 ...
.


Professional life

Beginning in 1892, Webber worked for the
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 ...
Bureau of Plant Industry in
Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...
where he investigated
orange Orange most often refers to: *Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis'' ** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower ** Orange juice *Orange (colour), the color of an orange fruit, occurs between red and yellow in the vi ...
diseases and from 1889 to 1907 had charge of the department's plant-breeding investigations. In 1898 Webber represented the USDA in London at the International Conference on Hybridization. In 1907 Webber, then considered the "most notable plant breeder and botanist in the USDA," 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 ...
, dean of
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 ...
's
New York State College of Agriculture The New York State College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Cornell University (CALS or Ag School) is one of Cornell University's four statutory colleges, and is the only agricultural college in the Ivy League. With enrollment of approximat ...
, to serve as
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 experimental plant biology director of the school’s Department of Plant Breeding. Bailey often left Webber in charge of the college while Bailey participated in conferences away from Ithaca before appointing Webber as acting dean in 1910. While at Cornell Webber stressed biological research with a particular focus on both genetics and breeding. He was a partner in the development of several
cultivar A cultivar is a kind of Horticulture, cultivated plant that people have selected for desired phenotypic trait, traits and which retains those traits when Plant propagation, propagated. Methods used to propagate cultivars include division, root a ...
s including Cornell 1777 Timothy grass, Honor Winter Wheat, Cornell Welcome Spring Oats, Weber's Early Dent O.P. Corn, Cornell 11 and 12 Corn, In 1912 Webber went to the
University of California The University of California (UC) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university, research university system in the U.S. state of California. Headquartered in Oakland, California, Oakland, the system is co ...
to be director of the Citrus Experiment Station,
dean Dean may refer to: People * Dean (given name) * Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin * Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk * Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean * Dean Sw ...
of the
Graduate School of Tropical Agriculture Graduate may refer to: Education * The subject of a graduation, i.e. someone awarded an academic degree ** Alumni, a former student who has either attended or graduated from an institution * High school graduate, someone who has completed high ...
, and professor of
plant breeding Plant breeding is the science of changing the traits of plants in order to produce desired characteristics. It is used to improve the quality of plant products for use by humans and animals. The goals of plant breeding are to produce crop varie ...
. Webber was one of the advocates in 1913 of keeping the station in Riverside rather than re-locating the facility to the San Fernando Valley. Together with
Walter Tennyson Swingle Walter Tennyson Swingle (January 8, 1871 – January 19, 1952) was an American agricultural Botany, botanist who contributed greatly to the classification and citrus taxonomy, taxonomy of citrus. Biography Swingle was born in South Canaan, Cana ...
he originated
citrange The citrange (a portmanteau of ''citrus'' and ''orange'') is a citrus hybrid of the sweet orange and the trifoliate orange. The purpose of this cross was to attempt to create a cold hardy citrus tree (which is the nature of a trifoliate), wi ...
s, a hardy citrus fruit, by hybridization. In 1915 Webber joined the
California Avocado Society The California Avocado Society is a non-profit organization based in Southern California that provides access to information on cultural, marketing, research and governmental issues for growers in the business of raising avocados. The society wa ...
, serving as director twice and president once. During 1920 Webber took a sabbatical from University of California to serve as general manager of South Carolina-based Coker Pedigreed Seed Company only to return to the Citrus Experimentation Station the following year. He retired as director of the Experimentation Station in 1929 and retired from teaching in 1936. In 1939, he and
Leon Dexter Batchelor Leon Dexter Batchelor (May 8, 1884 – March 21, 1958) was an American horticulture professor. He was the longest-serving director of the University of California Citrus Experiment Station. Early life and education Batchelor was born in 1884 ...
discovered an orange cultivar, '' Olinda Valencia'', in Southern California. Webber was a founding member of the Los Angeles Farm Bureau. Webber had been a member of the
American Association for the Advancement of Science The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is a United States–based international nonprofit with the stated mission of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific responsib ...
, the
American Botanical Society American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...
, the
American Society of Naturalists The American Society of Naturalists (ASN) was founded in 1883 and is one of the oldest professional societies dedicated to the biological sciences in North America. The purpose of the Society is "to advance and diffuse knowledge of organic evoluti ...
, the Society of Horticultural Science, the
American Genetic Association The American Genetic Association (AGA) is a US-based professional scientific organization dedicated to the study of genetics and genomics which was founded as the American Breeders Association in 1903. The association has published the '' Journ ...
, and the
Ecological Society of America The Ecological Society of America (ESA) is a professional organization of ecological scientists. Based in the United States and founded in 1915, ESA publications include peer-reviewed journals, newsletters, fact sheets, and teaching resources. I ...
, as well as academic societies
Sigma Xi Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Honor Society () is an international non-profit honor society for scientists and engineers. Sigma Xi was founded at Cornell University by a faculty member and graduate students in 1886 and is one of the oldest ...
, Alpha Zeta, and
Kappa Delta Rho Kappa Delta Rho (), commonly known as KDR, is an American collegiate social fraternity that was established at Middlebury College in 1905. It has chartered 84 chapters, 35 of which are active, in the United States, primarily in the Midwest and Mi ...
.


Publications

Webber wrote some 263 publications. He was a contributor and worked on the editorial board of ''
The Citrus Industry ''The Citrus Industry'' is a book consisting of five volumes of scientific and experimental information on all the citrus species and varieties, originals as well as hybrids. The book was produced by scientists associated with the University of ...
''. The book has been called the “bible of citrus growers.” * *


Awards and recognition

Webber was awarded a Doctor of Agriculture degree from the University of Nebraska in 1913 and a
Doctor of Laws A Doctor of Laws (LL.D.) is a doctoral degree in legal studies. The abbreviation LL.D. stands for ''Legum Doctor'', with the double “L” in the abbreviation referring to the early practice in the University of Cambridge to teach both canon law ...
degree from the
University of California The University of California (UC) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university, research university system in the U.S. state of California. Headquartered in Oakland, California, Oakland, the system is co ...
in 1943. Webber Hall, a life sciences building on
University of California, Riverside The University of California, Riverside (UCR or UC Riverside) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Riverside, California, United States. It is one of the ten campuses of the University of Cali ...
, was named in his honor.


Person life

On September 8, 1890, Webber married Lucene Anna Hardin. The couple had four children. Webber died in Riverside, California on January 18, 1946.


References


Citations


Bibliography

*


External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Webber, Herbert John 1865 births Cornell University faculty 1946 deaths University of Nebraska–Lincoln alumni People from Marshalltown, Iowa American plant physiologists Washington University in St. Louis alumni