William Randolph Taylor

American botanist and phycologist

William Randolph Taylor

Born| December 21, 1895

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Died| November 11, 1990(1990-11-11) (aged 94)
Nationality| American
Alma mater| University of Pennsylvania
Scientific career
Fields| Phycology
Institutions| University of Pennsylvania
University of Michigan
Notable students| William Campbell Steere
Author abbrev. (botany)| W.R.Taylor

William Randolph Taylor (December 21, 1895 - November 11, 1990) was an American botanist known as an expert in phycology.

## Early life[edit]

Taylor was born on December 21, 1895, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He attended the University of Pennsylvania to study botany, receiving his B.S. in 1916, M.S. in 1917, and Ph.D. in 1920.[1] In 1918, he served as private in the U.S. Army during WWI.[2]

## Career[edit]

Taylor became a professor of the University of Pennsylvania in 1927. In 1930, he joined the Department of Botany of the University of Michigan teaching marine botany. His summers were primarily spent at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, Massachusetts.[2] He was also Curator of Algae of the University Herbarium.[1]

His field work involved collecting trips to the Dry Tortugas, British Columbia, the Caribbean, Pacific Mexico, Central and South America, and the Galapagos Islands. His lab research dealt with cytogenetics and cytotaxonomy of seaweeds, specializing in the biology and classification of freshwater and marine algae. His goal was to catalog oceanic biodiversity.[1]

In 1946, he was brought on as a senior biologist for Operation Crossroads by the United States Navy to conduct botanical surveys of the Marshall Islands before and after the testing of atomic bombs.[1]

Taylor was a founding member of the Phycological Society of America and served as their second President in 1947. He was vice-president of the Botanical Society of America in 1956. He was a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the Royal Academy of Science, Letters and Fine Arts of Belgium, the Linnean Society of London, and of the French Academy of Sciences.[1]

## Selected publications[edit]

Taylor authored more than 140 works. His four principle publications are:[2]

* Taylor, William Randolph (1937). Marine Algae of the Northeastern Coast of North America. ISBN 9781258422929.
* Pacific Marine Algae of the Allan Hancock Expeditions to the Galapagos Islands, 1945.
* Taylor, William Randolph (1950). Plants of Bikini and other Northern Marshall Islands. ISBN 9780598399113.
* Taylor, William Randolph (1960). Marine algae of the Eastern Tropical and Subtropical Coasts of the Americas.

The standard author abbreviation W.R.Taylor is used to indicate this person as the author when citing a botanical name.[3]

## References[edit]

1. ^ a b c d e "UMich - WILLIAM RANDOLPH TAYLOR 1895-1990".
2. ^ a b c Hillis, L. (1992). William Randolph Taylor, 1895–1990. British Phycological Journal, 27(1), 1–2. https://doi.org/10.1080/00071619200650011
3. ^ International Plant Names Index.  W.R.Taylor.

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Presidents of the Phycological Society of America

1946-1974|

* Gilbert Morgan Smith (1946)
* William Randolph Taylor (1947)
* Lewis Hanford Tiffany (1948)
* Jules Brunel (1949)
* Edgar Nelson Transeau (1950)
* Clarence E. Taft (1951)
* Edwin T. Moul (1952)
* Ruth Myrtle Patrick (1953)
* Gerald Webber Prescott (1954)
* Harold Charles Bold (1955)
* George F. Papenfuss (1956)
* Larry A. Whitford (1957)
* Paul Claude Silva (1958)
* Richard Cawthorn Starr (1959)
* Jack Edgar Myers (1960)
* Luigi Provasoli (1961)
* William A. Daily (1962)
* Robert W. Krauss (1963)
* Janet Ruth Stein Taylor (1965)
* Walter R. Herndon (1966)
* Hannah T. Croasdale (1967)
* Francis R. Trainor (1968)
* Bruce C. Parker (1969)
* Ralph Arnold Lewin (1970)
* Richard Earl Norris (1971)
* Philip W. Cook (1972)
* Robert W. Hoshaw (1973)
* Patricia L. Walne (1974)

1975-1999|

* Norma J. Lang (1975)
* John A. West (1976)
* Michael J. Wynne (1977)
* Elisabeth Gantt (1978)
* Clinton J. Dawes (1979)
* Elenor R. Cox (1980)
* Larry R. Hoffman (1981)
* Annette W. Coleman (1982)
* James R. Rosowski (1983)
* Carole A. Lembi (1984)
* Michael Neushul, Jr. (1985)
* Beatrice Marcy Sweeney (1986)
* Susan D. Waaland (1987)
* Eugene F. Stoermer (1988)
* Russell L. Chapman (1989)
* Lois Ann Pfiester (1990)
* J. Robert Waaland (1991)
* Robert Gordon Sheath (1992)
* M. Dennis Hanisak (1992)
* John P. van der Meer (1993)
* Larry B. Liddle (1994)
* Richard L. Meyer (1995)
* Lynda J. Goff  (1996)
* Rick McCourt (1998)
* Paul Kugrens (1999)

2000-present|

* Steven N. Murray (2000)
* Charles Yarish (2001)
* A. Michelle Wood (2002)
* David F. Millie (2003)
* Thierry B. R. Chopin (2004)
* Curt M. Pueschel (2005)
* Morgan Vis (2006)
* Richard E. Triemer (2007)
* Robert A. Andersen (2008)
* Charles Amsler (2009)
* Paul K. Hayes (2010)
* Susan H. Brawley (2011)
* Juan M. Lopez-Bautista (2012)
* Linda Graham (2013)
* John W. Stiller (2014)
* Rick Zechman (2015)
* Paul W. Gabrielson (2016)
* Tim A. Nelson (2017)
* Alison Sherwood (2018)
* Kirsten M. Müller (2019)
* Dale Casamatta (2020)

Authority control databases

International|

* FAST
* ISNI
* VIAF

National|

* Germany
* United States
* Czech Republic
* Netherlands

Academics|

* International Plant Names Index

Artists|

* Scientific illustrators
* Te Papa (New Zealand)

People|

* Deutsche Biographie

Other|

* IdRef

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