Norman Carter Fassett (March 27, 1900 – September 14, 1954) 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 ...

and professor, known as an expert on the aquatic flora of

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

Career

Fassett was born in

Ware, Massachusetts Ware is a New England town, town in Hampshire County, Massachusetts, Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 10,066 as of 2020 United States census, 2020. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Springfield metropo ...

. He studied at

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

, eventually earning his Ph.D. in 1925. That year, he was appointed an instructor 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 ...

. By 1944, he had advanced to full professor and was curator of the university herbarium. Under his direction, the herbarium grew from a size of 96,000 specimens to 380,000 specimens. Fassett personally collected over 28,000. From 1948 to 1949, he was chair of the botany department. Fassett participated in the Colombian

Cinchona Mission The Cinchona Missions (1942–1945) were a series of expeditions led by the United States to find natural sources of quinine in South America during World War II. Background Bark of species from the genus ''Cinchona'' produces the alkaloid quini ...

, where he was part of a group searching for and studying ''

Cinchona ''Cinchona'' (pronounced or ) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae containing at least 23 species of trees and shrubs. All are native to the Tropical Andes, tropical Andean forests of western South America. A few species are ...

'' trees 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 ...

. He later participated in research expeditions in

Guatemala Guatemala, officially the Republic of Guatemala, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico, to the northeast by Belize, to the east by Honduras, and to the southeast by El Salvador. It is hydrologically b ...

El Salvador El Salvador, officially the Republic of El Salvador, is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south by the Pacific Ocean. El Salvador's capital and largest city is S ...

, and

Nicaragua Nicaragua, officially the Republic of Nicaragua, is the geographically largest Sovereign state, country in Central America, comprising . With a population of 7,142,529 as of 2024, it is the third-most populous country in Central America aft ...

. From 1945 to 1950, Fassett served as chairman of the Natural Areas Committee of the

Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR) is a government agency of the U.S. state of Wisconsin charged with conserving and managing Wisconsin's natural resources. The Wisconsin Natural Resources Board has the authority to set polic ...

. He led the effort to establish Parfrey's Glen as a scientific research area. Fassett was a founding member of the

American Society of Plant Taxonomists The American Society of Plant Taxonomists (ASPT) is a botany, botanical organization formed in 1935 to "foster, encourage, and promote education and research in the field of plant taxonomy, to include those areas and fields of study that contribut ...

in 1935, and served as the president of the organization for the year preceding his death. He died of a brain tumor in

Boothbay Harbor, Maine Boothbay Harbor is a town in Lincoln County, Maine, United States. The population was 2,027 at the 2020 census. It includes the neighborhoods of Mount Pisgah, and Sprucewold, the Bayville and West Boothbay Harbor villages, and the Isle of Sp ...

on September 14, 1954.

Publications

Fassett authored over 100 professional papers, mostly concerning the flora of North America. Norman C. Fasset authored the book "A Manual of Aquatic Plants". SBN:299-01450-9; LC 57-6593 Published by The University of Wisconsin Press in 1940. Shortly before his death Dr. Fassett arranged for a revised edition of this book. Eugene C. Ogden handled the revision and attempted to bring the book more inline with present-day (1956) nomenclature.

Eponyms

Several species were named in honor of Fassett, including: *'' Callitriche fassettii'' Schotsman, 1966 *''

Elatine fassettiana ''Elatine'' is one of only two genera in the plant family Elatinaceae, the waterwort family. It contains about 25 species of aquatic plants known generally as waterworts. These are annual or perennial plants found in wet areas worldwide. , Plant ...

'' Steyerm., 1952 *'' Eleocharis fassettii'' S.González & P.M.Peterson, 2008 *'' Tillandsia fassettii'' L.B.Sm., 1955

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fassett, Norman Carter Botanists with author abbreviations 20th-century American botanists 1900 births 1954 deaths People from Ware, Massachusetts University of Wisconsin–Madison faculty Harvard University alumni Deaths from brain cancer in the United States Deaths from cancer in Maine