Rogers McVaugh
| Rogers McVaugh | |
|---|---|
| Born |
May 30, 1909 New York City, New York, U.S. |
| Died |
September 24, 2009 (aged 100) Chapel Hill, North Carolina, U.S. |
| Fields | Botany |
| Alma mater |
Swarthmore College University of Pennsylvania |
Rogers McVaugh (May 30, 1909 – September 24, 2009)[1] was a research professor of botany and the UNC Herbarium's curator of Mexican plants. He was also Adjunct Research Scientist of the Hunt Institute in Carnegie Mellon University and a Professor Emeritus of botany in the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.[1] The plant genus Mcvaughia was named in his honor in 1979.[2]
Biography
Born in New York City, Rogers McVaugh was a brilliant student. He earned the bachelor's degree with highest honors in botany from Swarthmore College in 1931 and a Ph.D in botany from the University of Pennsylvania in 1935.[1]
McVaugh's first published paper is Recent Changes in the Composition of a Local Flora, published in 1935. His final publication was Marcus E. Jones in Mexico, 1892, published in 2005.[1]
Writings
McVaugh's last, partially completed work was the Flora Novo-Galiciana, a multi-volume work focusing on the diverse flora of a region in western Mexico. In 1984, he was awarded the Botanical Society of America’s Henry Allan Gleason Award for his work on this project.[1]
McVaugh published about 12 books and 200 shorter articles in history of botany, floristics and systematic botany, including Recent Changes in the Composition of a Local Flora . Among his contributions was a biography of the 19th-century naturalist Edward Palmer.[3]
Family
In 1937 Rogers McVaugh married Ruth Beall, who died in 1987. His two children are Michael Rogers McVaugh and Jenifer Beall McVaugh.[1]
Centenary & death
On May 30, 2009 he celebrated his 100th birthday.[4] He died, aged 100, on September 24, 2009.
Career
- 1935-1938: Instructor then Asst. Professor, Botany, University of Georgia, Athens
- 1938-1946: Associate Botanist, Division of plant exploration & introduction, U.S. Department of Agriculture
- 1946-1951: Associate Professor, Botany, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
- 1951-1974: Professor, Botany, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
- 1955-1956: Program Director for Systematic Biology, National Science Foundation, 1974-1979: Harley Harris Bartlett Professor of Botany, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
- 1946-1979: Curator of Vascular Plants, University of Michigan Herbarium, Ann Arbor
- 1972—1975: Director, University of Michigan Herbarium, Ann Arbor
- 1979–present: Professor Emeritus, Botany, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
- 1980–present: Research Professor of Botany, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
- 1981–present: Adjunct Research Scientist, Hunt Institute, Carnegie Mellon University
Honors
- International Association for Plant Taxonomy: Vice-President 1969-1972, President 1972-1975
- Festschrift in Taxon, 1979
- Botanical Society of America-Merit Award, 1977
- Sociedad Botánica de Mexico- Gold Medal 1978
- New York Botanical Garden- Henry Allan Gleason award 1984, for Flora Novo-Galiciana vol. 14 (1983)
- American Society of Plant Taxonomists—First Annual Asa Gray award, 1984
- University of Guadalajara, Mexico— First Luz María Villarreal de Puga Medal, 1993
- International Botanical Congress, St. Louis, USA – Millennium Medal, 1999 (one of eight worldwide)
- Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. – First Cuatrecasas Medal for Excellence in Tropical Botany, 2001
- Botanical Society of America - Centennial Award, 2006
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 Herbarium.UNC
- ↑ https://www.lsa.umich.edu/herb/malpigh/MALPpdf/Tx28-McVaughia.pdf
- ↑ McVaugh, Rogers. 1956. Edward Palmer: Plant Explorer of the American West. University of Oklahoma Press, Norman.
- ↑ The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill: Botanist, Herbarium Curator turns 100
- ↑ IPNI. McVaugh.