Charles Drechsler

Charles Drechsler (May 1, 1892 – February 5, 1986) was an American mycologist with 45 years of research with the United States Department of Agriculture. He spent considerable time working with cereal fungal diseases, and the genus Drechslera was named after him. Drechsler also worked extensively on oomycete fungi and their interactions with vegetable plants. Drechsler was recognized as a leading authority on helminthosporia, oomycetes, and other parasitic fungi.[1][2]

Early life

Drechsler was born on May 1, 1892 in Wisconsin. He was raised by his parents Louis and Bertha Alvina Schultz Drechsler on a farm near the village of Butternut. Lois and Bertha were of German origin, and Charles spoke only German until learning English in school.[1]

Education

Drechsler attended the University of Wisconsin–Madison, where he started off studying engineering, but switched to botany after attending a mycology lecture. He earned his Bachelor's degree in 1913, and went on to complete a Master of Science in plant pathology in 1914, producing a thesis on bacterial black rot of crucifers. Drechsler then enrolled at Harvard University, working alongside noted mycologist Roland Thaxter. His dissertation involved the taxonomic placement of the genus Actinomyces.[1]

Employment at the U.S. Department of Agriculture

In 1917, Dr. Drechsler moved to Washington D.C., and began his career with the United States Department of Agriculture. His first position was an assistant with the Bureau of Plant Industry, Soils and Agricultural Engineering. Only a year later, Drechsler served with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers during World War I. He served for two years and then came back to work continuously with the USDA for the following decades. He was promoted from assistant pathologist (1924) to associate pathologist (1924) and then pathologist(1929). Dr. Drechsler began his research in cereal diseases. The Genus Drechslera was named after him by another mycologist. Dr. Drechsler was eventually moved from cereal disease research to vegetable disease research. He studied oomycete fungal plant diseases, many from the Genera Pythium, Phytophthora and Aphanomyces and identified several new species. He drew many illustrations of newly identified fungi. He published numerous papers (located in the Notable Works section below) on oomycetes that destroy nematodes, amoebae, and soil rhizopods. Dr. Drechsler was recognized for his extensive work by being named a fellow in the American Phytopathological Society in 1966 and named Distinguished Mycologist by the Mycological Society of America in 1984.

Personal life

Drechsler’s wife, Mary Florence Morscher, was also a botanist and also worked at the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The two met at a Washington Botanical Society annual dinner dance. They were married in 1930 and eventually had three children and remained married until Charles’s death in 1986. The family were regular members at the Clarendon Methodist Church in Arlington, Virginia and later became members at the University Park United Methodist Church in College Park, Maryland.

After retiring from the Department of Agriculture, Drechsler continued his research at his home near Beltsville, Maryland. During 20 years of post-retirement research, Drechsler collaborated with the Agricultural Research Service.[1] Drechsler was outlived by his wife Mary Florence, son Charles, daughter Kathryn Finnegan of Flemington, and his younger son, Robert.

Works

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Lumsden, Robert D. (15 June 1987). "Charles Drechsler, 1892-1986". Mycologia. New York Botanical Garden. 79 (3): 345–352. doi:10.2307/3807454. ISSN 1557-2536. JSTOR 3807454. Retrieved September 9, 2014.
  2. ↑ Lumsden, R. D. (1987). "Charles Drechsler, 1892-1986" (PDF). Phytopathology. 77: 399–400. ISSN 0031-949X. Retrieved September 9, 2014.
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