George Elwood Nichols

George Elwood Nichols (1882–1939) was a botanist, bryologist, algologist and ecologist, one of the founders of the Ecological Society of America.[1][2] The standard author abbreviation Nichols is used to indicate this person as the author when citing a botanical name.[3]

George Elwood Nichols
George E. Nichols
Born(1882-04-12)April 12, 1882
Southington, Connecticut
DiedJune 20, 1939(1939-06-20) (aged 57)
New Haven, Connecticut
NationalityAmerican
Alma materYale University
Scientific career
FieldsBotany
InstitutionsYale University
ThesisMorphological Study of Juniperus communis var. depressa (1909)
Doctoral advisorAlexander William Evans
Doctoral studentsFrank Egler
Author abbrev. (botany)Nichols

Early life

Nichols was born in Southington, Connecticut on April 12, 1882. After secondary school at Hillhouse High School, Nichols matriculated in 1900 at Yale University, there receiving in 1904 his bachelor's degree and in 1909 his Ph.D.; in 1910 his thesis was published in Beihefte zum Botanischen Centralblatt.[2] In 1914, Nichols helped found the Ecological Society of America.[4]

Career

At Yale University's botany department, Nichols became an instructor, then in 1915 assistant professor, in 1924 associate professor and in 1926 full professor. From 1926 until his death, he served simultaneously in three capacities: the Eaton Professor of Botany, chair of Yale's botany department, and director of the Marsh Botanical Garden. Beginning in 1920, each summer he worked at the University of Michigan's biological station at Douglas Lake. At the biological station he studied algae and bryophytes, writing about 25 articles on his findings. Nichols served as the president of the Ecological Society of America in 1932.[4] In 1938, he was elected President of the American Bryological and Lichenological Society, a role which he served until his death.[2]

Legacy

Several species have been named in his honor, including Dicranella nicholsii named by Robert Statham Williams and Hygrohypnum nicholsii named by Abel Joel Grout.

Selected publications
  • Evans, A. W. and G. E. Nichols (1908). The Bryophytes of Connecticut. Conn. Geol. & Nat. Hist. Surv., Bull. 11: 1-203.
  • Nichols, G. E. (1908). North American species of Amblystegiella. The Bryologist 11: 4-5.
  • Evans, A. W. and G. E. Nichols (1935). The liverwort flora of the Upper Michigan Peninsula. The Bryologist 38: 81-91.
  • Nichols, G. E. and W. C. Steere (1936). Notes on Michigan bryophytes,-III. The Bryologist 39: 111-118
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References
  1. Polunin, Nicholas Vladimir (1942). "G. E. Nichols: An Appreciation". Journal of Ecology. 30 (1): 202–205. doi:10.2307/2256692. ISSN 0022-0477. JSTOR 2256692.
  2. Steere, William Campbell (December 1939). "George Elwood Nichols, 1882-1939". The Bryologist. 42 (6): 137–142. doi:10.1639/0007-2745(1939)42[137:gen]2.0.co;2. JSTOR 3239777.
  3. IPNI.  Nichols.
  4. "George E. Nichols". 25 June 2015.
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