U.S. National Fungus Collections Topical Files

Collection

Identifier: MS0454

Staff Only

Content Description

The U.S. National Fungus Collections Topical Files contain historical records assembled largely by John A. Stevenson during his 33 years of service as director of the U.S. National Fungus Collections. These materials reflect the history of American mycology and plant pathology and the relationship to the development of the U.S. National Fungus Collections in the 19th and 20th centuries. These files include correspondence; biographical information; unpublished manuscripts; information on scientific meetings, other herbaria, associations and societies; mycological and phytopathological data; photographs; and field and laboratory records. Many American mycologists and plant pathologists are represented in the materials, including: L. von Schweinitz, H. Ravenel, C. H. Peck, P. Spaulding, J. B. Ellis, C. L. Shear, L. C. C. Krieger, G. L. Zundel, George Washington Carver, E. E. Morse, R. K. Beattie, W. H. Long, E. K. Cash, A. G. Johnson, and A. E. Jenkins. Specific subject areas represented include: botanical nomenclature, barberry eradication, chestnut blight disease, Wollenweber's Fusarium studies, International Botanical Congresses, historical studies of the USDA, as well as correspondence and reports of the National Fungus Collections.

Dates

Creation: 1850-1977

Conditions Governing Access

Contact Special Collections for access.

Biographical Sketch

John A. (John Albert) Stevenson (1890-1979) was born in Woonsocket, South Dakota. He graduated from the University of Minnesota with a B.S. degree in forestry and botany. He attended graduate school at the University of Minnesota and later at George Washington University, where he studied phytopathology. He served as an assistant pathologist at the Experimental Station of the Sugar Producers of Puerto Rico, and as a plant pathologist for the Puerto Rico Department of Agriculture. In 1918, he was appointed pathological inspector for the Federal Horticultural Board of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and moved to Washington, D.C. He was promoted to associate plant pathologist in 1924. He began working with the Division of Mycology and Plant Disease Survey in 1927 and took over the maintenance and development of the mycological collections. He became head of the division in 1945. He officially retired from USDA in 1960, but continued as a collaborator with the National Fungus Collections for the next 15 years.

Organizational History

The US National Fungus Collections is the world’s largest herbarium of dried fungus specimens. It was established in 1869 from a collection of fungus specimens transferred from the Smithsonian Institution to the USDA. In the past, it was part of the USDA’s Mycology and Disease Survey. Currently, the US National Fungus Collections is a part of the Mycology and Nematology Genetic Diversity and Biology Laboratory at USDA.