Bessey, Charles Edwin. Professor of botany at University of Nebraska, 1884-1915. Born on a farm in Milton, Wayne County, OH, May 21, 1845. Graduate (B. Sc.) of Michigan Agricultural College, 1869. Studied with Dr. Asa Gray at Harvard, 1872-73 and 1875-76. Married on December 25, 1873, to Lucy Athearn, West Tisbury, Martha's Vineyard, MA. Professor of botany in Iowa Agricultural College, 1870-84 (acting president, 1882); acting chancellor of University of Nebraska, 1888-91, 1899-1900, and 1907. Botanical editor of "American Naturalist" (Philadelphia), 1880-97; of "Science" (New York), 1897-1915; of "Johnson's Cyclopedia," 1893-1915. Author: "Geography of Iowa," "Botany for High Schools and Colleges," "The Essentials of Botany," "Elementary Botanical Exercises," "Elementary Botany," "Plant Migration Studies." Also, many scientific papers. Edited McNab's "Morphology, Physiology, and Classification of Plants." Died 1915.

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