- Francis Raymond Fosberg
Infobox Person
name = Francis Raymond Fosberg
caption =
birth_date = 1908
birth_place =Spokane, Washington
death_date = 25 September 1993
death_place =Falls Church, Virginia
other_names =
known_for =
occupation = Botanist
nationality = USAFrancis Raymond "Ray" Fosberg (1908–1993) was an American
botanist . A prolific collector and author, he played a significant role in the development ofcoral reef and island studies. [ [http://www.botany.hawaii.edu/faculty/duffy/arb/390-396/390-396.pdf F. RAYMOND FOSBERG (1908-1993) COMMEMORATIVE ISSUE] ]History
Ray Fosberg was born in
Spokane, Washington but grew up inTurlock, California . He received aB.A. inBotany atPomona College in 1930. Fosberg worked as a plant researcher at theLos Angeles County Museum , specializing in plants from islands on the coast of California and of the desert Southwest.He became interested in island
ecosystem s, and in 1932 moved toHonolulu to work at theUniversity of Hawaii as an assistant. There he received an invitation to participate in theMangareva Expedition led by the malacologistC. Montague Cooke, Jr. . The expedition visited 25 high islands and 31 coral islands, and Fosberg and his professorHarold St John brought back 15,000 plant specimens.Fosberg received his M.S. in Botany from the
University of Hawaii in 1937 and hisPh.D. from theUniversity of Pennsylvania in 1939 . Thereafter he worked at the USDA and was sent toColombia to identify stands of "Cinchona " forquinine production. In 1946 he participated in an economic resources survey in the Micronesian Islands. He returned to the United States and began doing vegetation work for thePacific Science Board under the National Research Council with his new assistant, Marie-Hélène Sachet.In 1951, Fosberg and Sachet began working at the USGS where they were responsible for mapping the military geology of islands in the Pacific. In 1966 they joined the Smithsonian's
National Museum of Natural History in the tropical biology branch of theEcology program. In 1968 Fosberg transferred to the Department of Botany, where he becamecurator . In 1976 he became Senior Botanist, and in 1993 Botanist Emeritus.Publications
Fosberg has contributed to more than 700 books and papers. In 1980 he helped publish "A Revised Handbook to the Flora of Ceylon" (ISBN 9061910692). [ [http://books.google.com/books?id=rCgs6CEghvgC Google Book Search Information page about A Revised Handbook to the Flora of Ceylon] ]
References
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