William Russell Dudley
Encyclopedia
William Russell Dudley was a botanist, born in Guilford, Connecticut
. He graduated from Cornell University
in 1874, and subsequently studied natural history under Louis Agassiz
on Penikese Island
in 1875, and in the Harvard Summer School
in 1876. In 1873 he became instructor of botany at Cornell, and in 1884 assistant professor of cryptogamic botany, and also professor of botany in the Martha's Vineyard
summer institute during its sessions in 1878–79. He died of tuberculosis
in 1911.
), wrote of his demeanor, saying that Dudley was "a tall, well-built, handsome and refined young man, older and more mature than most freshmen, and with more serious and definite purposes."
In 1913, Leland Stanford Junior University published a "Dudley Memorial Volume" containing a paper by the then late Professor and appreciations, and contributions by friends and colleagues.
In 1901 the California Legislature passed an enabling act
whereby 3800 acres (1,537.8 ha) of land were purchased by the state in the next year to preserve the coastal redwood forest throughout the Santa Cruz Foothills area. Dudley was one of four men appointed to the first state board of commissioners. Big Basin Redwoods State Park
was established in 1902, the first of many in that state created since then.
Dudley contracted an illness while studying trees in Persia. He contracted a severe cold or bronchitis in Egypt, and later died of tuberculosis
.
Guilford, Connecticut
Guilford is a town in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States, that borders Madison, Branford, North Branford and Durham, and is situated on I-95 and the coast. The population was 21,398 at the 2000 census...
. He graduated from Cornell University
Cornell University
Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
in 1874, and subsequently studied natural history under Louis Agassiz
Louis Agassiz
Jean Louis Rodolphe Agassiz was a Swiss paleontologist, glaciologist, geologist and a prominent innovator in the study of the Earth's natural history. He grew up in Switzerland and became a professor of natural history at University of Neuchâtel...
on Penikese Island
Penikese Island
Penikese Island is a island off the coast of Massachusetts, United States, in Buzzards Bay. It is one of the Elizabeth Islands, which make up the town of Gosnold, Massachusetts...
in 1875, and in the Harvard Summer School
Harvard Summer School
The Harvard Summer School is the summer session school of Harvard University.-Origins:Harvard Summer School was founded in 1871. It is the first academic summer session established and the oldest summer school present in the United States...
in 1876. In 1873 he became instructor of botany at Cornell, and in 1884 assistant professor of cryptogamic botany, and also professor of botany in the Martha's Vineyard
Martha's Vineyard
Martha's Vineyard is an island located south of Cape Cod in Massachusetts, known for being an affluent summer colony....
summer institute during its sessions in 1878–79. He died of tuberculosis
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
in 1911.
Early life
His college roommate, David Starr Jordan (who later wrote an obituary for him in the journal ScienceScience (journal)
Science is the academic journal of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and is one of the world's top scientific journals....
), wrote of his demeanor, saying that Dudley was "a tall, well-built, handsome and refined young man, older and more mature than most freshmen, and with more serious and definite purposes."
In 1913, Leland Stanford Junior University published a "Dudley Memorial Volume" containing a paper by the then late Professor and appreciations, and contributions by friends and colleagues.
In 1901 the California Legislature passed an enabling act
Enabling act
An enabling act is a piece of legislation by which a legislative body grants an entity which depends on it for authorization or legitimacy the power to take certain actions. For example, enabling acts often establish government agencies to carry out specific government policies in a modern nation...
whereby 3800 acres (1,537.8 ha) of land were purchased by the state in the next year to preserve the coastal redwood forest throughout the Santa Cruz Foothills area. Dudley was one of four men appointed to the first state board of commissioners. Big Basin Redwoods State Park
Big Basin Redwoods State Park
Big Basin Redwoods State Park is a state park in the U.S. state of California, located in Santa Cruz County, about northwest of Santa Cruz. The park contains almost all of the Waddell Creek watershed, which was formed by the seismic uplift of its rim, and the erosion of its center by the many...
was established in 1902, the first of many in that state created since then.
Dudley contracted an illness while studying trees in Persia. He contracted a severe cold or bronchitis in Egypt, and later died of tuberculosis
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
.
Selected publications
- 1886. "The Cayuga Flora, Part I. : A Catalogue of the Phaenogamia growing without Cultivation in the Cayuga Lake Basin". (Ithaca, 1886).
- 1886. "Sketch of Curtis". The Journal of Mycology 2(5): 54–59.
- 1886. "Elias Magnus Fries". The Journal of Mycology 2(8): 91–94.
- 1886. "Charles Christopher Frost". The Journal of Mycology 2(10): 114–18.
Eponymous taxa
- Carex dudleyi Mack.
- "Dudley's sedge", a monocot, is a perennial herb that is endemic to California.
- Dudleyi
- Juncus dudleyi Wiegand
- "Dudley's rush" a rush
- Lecania dudleyi Herre
- A lichenLichenLichens are composite organisms consisting of a symbiotic organism composed of a fungus with a photosynthetic partner , usually either a green alga or cyanobacterium...
in family Ramallinaceae of the order LecanoralesLecanoralesThe Lecanorales are an order of mostly lichen-forming fungi belonging to the class Lecanoromycetes in the division Ascomycota. The order contains 26 families, 269 genera, and 5695...
.- Lupinus latifoliusLupinus latifoliusLupinus latifolius is a species of lupine known by the common name broadleaf lupine. It is native to western North America from British Columbia to Baja California to New Mexico, where it is common and can be found in several types of habitat. There are several subtaxa, described as subspecies or...
Lindl. ex J. Agardh ssp. dudleyi (Rydb.) Kenney & D. Dunn - Mimulus dudleyi A.L. Grant
- Lupinus latifolius
- "Dudley's monkeyflower", endemic to California.
- Molliardiomyces dudleyi F.A. Harr. 1990
- Pedicularis dudleyiPedicularis dudleyiPedicularis dudleyi is a rare species of flowering plant in the broomrape family known by the common name Dudley's lousewort. It is endemic to central California, where it is known from about ten scattered occurrences along the coast and in the coastal mountain ranges. It is a resident of forest...
Elmer
- A dicot known as "Dudley's Lousewort"—a perennial herb that is endemic to California.
- Phacelia humilisPhacelia humilisPhacelia humilis, with the common name Low phacelia, is a species of phacelia. It is native to the Western United States, from central Washington to central California, where it grows in mountain and foothill habitat.-Varieties:...
Torr. & A. Gray var. dudleyi J.T. Howell - Polystichum dudleyiPolystichum dudleyiPolystichum dudleyi is a species of fern known by the common name Dudley's sword fern. It is endemic to California, where it is known from the forests of the central and southern California Coast Ranges.-Description:...
Maxon
- Phacelia humilis
- A species of fernFernA fern is any one of a group of about 12,000 species of plants belonging to the botanical group known as Pteridophyta. Unlike mosses, they have xylem and phloem . They have stems, leaves, and roots like other vascular plants...
known by the common name "Dudley's sword fern".- Sarcoscypha dudleyiSarcoscypha dudleyiSarcoscypha dudleyi, commonly known as the crimson cup or the scarlet cup, is a species of fungus in the Sarcoscyphaceae family of the Pezizales order. In addition to its main distribution in the central to eastern United States, the fungus has also been recorded once in Bulgaria...
(PeckCharles Horton PeckCharles Horton Peck, born March 30, 1833 in Sand Lake, New York, died 1917 in Albany, New York, was an American mycologist of the 19th and early 20th centuries...
) Baral 1984
- Sarcoscypha dudleyi
- A species of cup-fungus in the SarcoscyphaceaeSarcoscyphaceaeThe Sarcoscyphaceae are a family of cup fungi in the Pezizales order. There are 13 genera and 102 species in the family. Members of this family are cosmopolitan in distribution, being found in both tropical and temperate regions.-External links:...
family of the PezizalesPezizalesThe Pezizales are an order of the subphylum Pezizomycotina within the phylum Ascomycota. The order contains 16 families, 199 genera, and 1683 species. It contains a number of species of economic importance, such as morels, the black and white truffles, and the desert truffles. The Pezizales are...
order.- Triteleia dudleyiTriteleia dudleyiTriteleia dudleyi is a species of flowering plant known by the common name Dudley's triteleia. It is endemic to California, where it is known from sections of the High Sierra Nevada and the Transverse Ranges. It is a plant of subalpine climates, growing in mountain forests. It is a perennial herb...
Hoover
- Triteleia dudleyi
- "Dudley's triplet lily" or "Dudley's triteleia", a monocot, is a perennial herb that is endemic to California.