Elbert Little, Dendrologist
Elbert Luther Little, Jr., moved to Muskogee in 1909 as an infant. In 1923, he graduated from the Muskogee's Central High School. Little is famous for the compilation of numerous atlases of American trees. These works are still constantly in use today in the study of the impact of global warming.
Elbert was the son of a railroad tax agent. Like his father, he was always interested in details. His excellent oral and visual memory served him well. He made good grades throughout his school years where his fellow students thought he was "smart." Even so, they never imagined the height of recognition Elbert would obtain.
He continued his Latin and Spanish studies during his senior year. At the same time, he was also class secretary cum treasurer and a class reporter for "The Scout."
Elbert attended Muskogee Junior College the last year he lived in Muskogee. Then he enrolled for a summer course at McPherson Collage in McPherson, Kansas, in 1924. There he took his first biology course at the private, liberal arts institution. For a few years, the college offered field-study courses in Colorado Springs, Colorado. It was in Colorado that his study of plants and trees became the focus of his life.
At the end of summer, Elbert enrolled at the University of Oklahoma. Because the university accepted the credits Elbert earned in the junior college in Muskogee, he graduated in three years with Bachelor of Arts degree in botany. The year was 1927. Without any letup, Elbert then enrolled in the University of Chicago. Within another two years, he earned a masters degree and a doctorate. Both advanced degrees were in botany. The topic of both his thesis and his dissertation was studies of plants of Oklahoma.
Elbert's first job was with the Oklahoma Forest Commission. Afterwards, he taught college courses at Weatherford for three years. During this period, he earned yet another diploma, this time in zoology.
In the height of the Great Depression, when President Roosevelt was trying to reduce the damage caused by the Dust Bowl, Elbert became a federal employee of the Forest Service of the US Department of Agriculture. He worked for the USDA for eight years as a forest ecologist based in Tucson, Arizona.
Elbert Little accepted a promotion and moved to Washington, DC in 1942. He worked for the next thirty-four years as a dendrologist. In his study of American trees (the dendro- in his title), he began his publishing career in earnest. He wrote over 150 handbooks and hardbacks, some multi-volume works, on the trees of the western hemisphere. His fluency in Spanish really helped him in his studies of trees south of the Mexican border.
He wrote the Field Guide to North American Trees. Published by the Audubon Society, this two-volume set is still in print with more than a million copies sold. The book for the eastern region covers Muskogee.
Elbert Little's list of awards and service is too long to cite here. In the early 1990's, he returned to his old hometown to see how much he remembered from his youth. Of course, he visited the library to see if any of his books were on the shelves. I found him to be a gentle man with just a tinge of pride. We searched for his books and then he left.
It was not until years later that I realized the measure of his contributions in the study of trees. If one searches for his name on the internet, the list of hits often include acknowledgements by other researchers of Elbert Little's contributions. This scientist truly surpassed his surname by a mile.
Elbert was the son of a railroad tax agent. Like his father, he was always interested in details. His excellent oral and visual memory served him well. He made good grades throughout his school years where his fellow students thought he was "smart." Even so, they never imagined the height of recognition Elbert would obtain.
He continued his Latin and Spanish studies during his senior year. At the same time, he was also class secretary cum treasurer and a class reporter for "The Scout."
Elbert attended Muskogee Junior College the last year he lived in Muskogee. Then he enrolled for a summer course at McPherson Collage in McPherson, Kansas, in 1924. There he took his first biology course at the private, liberal arts institution. For a few years, the college offered field-study courses in Colorado Springs, Colorado. It was in Colorado that his study of plants and trees became the focus of his life.
At the end of summer, Elbert enrolled at the University of Oklahoma. Because the university accepted the credits Elbert earned in the junior college in Muskogee, he graduated in three years with Bachelor of Arts degree in botany. The year was 1927. Without any letup, Elbert then enrolled in the University of Chicago. Within another two years, he earned a masters degree and a doctorate. Both advanced degrees were in botany. The topic of both his thesis and his dissertation was studies of plants of Oklahoma.
Elbert's first job was with the Oklahoma Forest Commission. Afterwards, he taught college courses at Weatherford for three years. During this period, he earned yet another diploma, this time in zoology.
In the height of the Great Depression, when President Roosevelt was trying to reduce the damage caused by the Dust Bowl, Elbert became a federal employee of the Forest Service of the US Department of Agriculture. He worked for the USDA for eight years as a forest ecologist based in Tucson, Arizona.
Elbert Little accepted a promotion and moved to Washington, DC in 1942. He worked for the next thirty-four years as a dendrologist. In his study of American trees (the dendro- in his title), he began his publishing career in earnest. He wrote over 150 handbooks and hardbacks, some multi-volume works, on the trees of the western hemisphere. His fluency in Spanish really helped him in his studies of trees south of the Mexican border.
He wrote the Field Guide to North American Trees. Published by the Audubon Society, this two-volume set is still in print with more than a million copies sold. The book for the eastern region covers Muskogee.
Elbert Little's list of awards and service is too long to cite here. In the early 1990's, he returned to his old hometown to see how much he remembered from his youth. Of course, he visited the library to see if any of his books were on the shelves. I found him to be a gentle man with just a tinge of pride. We searched for his books and then he left.
It was not until years later that I realized the measure of his contributions in the study of trees. If one searches for his name on the internet, the list of hits often include acknowledgements by other researchers of Elbert Little's contributions. This scientist truly surpassed his surname by a mile.
Labels: Elbert L. Little, Muskogee Junior College
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