Perry Daniel Strausbaugh (March 21, 1886 - May 3, 1965) 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 expert in the flora of

West Virginia West Virginia is a mountainous U.S. state, state in the Southern United States, Southern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States.The United States Census Bureau, Census Bureau and the Association of American ...

Early life

Strausbaugh was born near Republic, Ohio on March 21, 1886. When he was 16, he received his teacher's certificate and began teaching grade school in Danville, Ohio. He first became interested in botany in 1904 while taking college preparatory classes at North Manchester College. In 1906, he received a Bachelor of English from Canton College and Bible Institute. He went on to get a S.B. degree from the College of Wooster in 1913, where he was also working as an instructor. He continued to teach at the school as an instructor in biology from 1913 to 1915, and as assistant professor from 1915 to 1918. In 1916, Strausbaugh enrolled at the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...

as a graduate student in botany under the direction of

John Merle Coulter John Merle Coulter, Ph. D. (November 20, 1851 – December 23, 1928) was an American botanist and educator. In his career in education administration, Coulter is notable for serving as the president of Indiana University and Lake Forest College ...

. He earned his Ph.D. in 1920, graduating cum laude.Core, E. (1966). Perry Daniel Strausbaugh. Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club, 93(2), 138-140. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/2483756

Career

After his graduation, Strausbaugh returned to Wooster College as assistant professor of botany, becoming a full professor of botany from 1921 to 1923. In 1923, Strausbaugh accepted the position as head of the department of botany at

West Virginia University West Virginia University (WVU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Morgantown, West Virginia, United States. Its other campuses are those of the West Virginia University Ins ...

and moved to

Morgantown, West Virginia Morgantown is a city in Monongalia County, West Virginia, United States, and its county seat. It is situated along the Monongahela River in North Central West Virginia and is the home of West Virginia University. The population was 30,347 at the 2 ...

. Here, one of his first acts was to re-organize the University Herbarium first established by

Charles Frederick Millspaugh Charles Frederick Millspaugh (June 20, 1854 – September 15, 1923) was an American botanist, botanical illustrator, and physician. He was the founding curator of botany at the Field Museum of Natural History from 1897 until his death, where ...

and to start to bolster the collection. In 1937, Strausbaugh was listed as an original member of the Southern Appalachian Botanical Club. 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 ...

, Strausbaugh served as lieutenant colonel. He was in charge of growing grass next to landing strips in order to prevent dust clouds from damaging aircraft and other machinery. In 1948, Strausbaugh retired from West Virginia University, but remained as a professor

emeritus ''Emeritus/Emerita'' () is an honorary title granted to someone who retires from a position of distinction, most commonly an academic faculty position, but is allowed to continue using the previous title, as in "professor emeritus". In some c ...

. His summer courses lead to the establishment of the

Terra Alta Biological Station Terra may often refer to: * Terra (mythology), primeval Roman goddess * An alternate name for planet Earth, as well as the Latin name for the planet Terra may also refer to: Geography Astronomy * Terra (satellite), a multi-national NASA scienti ...

in 1962.

Legacy

After his retirement, West Virginia University started off the P. D. Strausbaugh Student Loan Fund. The longest nature trail in the Core Arboretum was named the Strausbaugh Trail in 1955.

Selected publications

*Dormancy and hardiness in the plum. Bot. Gaz. 71: 337–357. 1921. *Common seed plants of the mid-Appalachian region. 507 p. Edwards Bros., Ann Harbor, Mich. Without date (about 1927). *Some troublesome weeds found in water supplies. W. Va. Eng. Exp. Sta. Tech. Bull. 2: 102–108. 1928. *Plant life of West Virginia. In W. Va. Encyclopedia. W. Va. Publ. Co., Charleston. pp. 678–689. 1929. *An invading potato sprout. Plant Physiology 4: 157, 158. 1929. *Some additions to the Millspaugh check-list of West Virginia spermatophytes. Proc. W. Va. Acad. Sci. 4: 38–48. 1930. (with Earl L. Core). *At the head of the Cacapon. Scientific Monthly 33: 80–85. 1931. (with J. G. Needham). *Common seed plants of the mid-Appalachian region. 305 p. Morgantown, W. Va. 1931. 2nd ed. 1955. (with Earl L. Core and Nelle P. Ammons). *The West Virginia University Biological Expedition. W. Va. School Journ. 60: 6, 7. December 1931. *Phymosia remota. Rhodora 34: 142–146. 1932. (with Earl L. Core). *Cranberry Glades. American Forests 40: 362–364, 382, 383. 1934. *Trees and shrubs of West Virginia. Mimeo. 109 p. 1935. (with Earl L. Core). *Additions to the Millspaugh check-list of West Virginia spermatophytes. Proc. W. Va. Acad. Sci. 9: 29–31. 1935. (with Earl L. Core). *Quaerite et invenietis. Sigma Xi Quarterly 24: 195–204. 1936. *William Earl Rumsey. Castanea 3: 53, 54. 1938. *Elements of biology. 461 p. New York, London. 1944. (with B. R. Weimer). *Some stages in the development of sphagnum bogs in West Virginia. Castanea 14: 129–148. 1949. (with G. B. Rigg). *Some new or otherwise noteworthy plants from West Virginia. Castanea 17: 16&i. 1952. (with Earl L. Core). *Theodore Roosevelt (book review) Castanea 22: 124, 125. 1957. * Rev. Fred W. Gray. Castanea 25: 132. 1960.

Early life

Career

Legacy

Selected publications

References

Further reading