Elias Judah Durand
| Elias Judah Durand | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
March 20, 1870 Canandaigua, New York |
| Died | October 29, 1922 (aged 52) |
| Residence | USA |
| Nationality | American |
| Known for | Contributions to taxonomic mycology, and botany |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Mycology |
| Author abbrev. (botany) | E.J. Durand |
Elias Judah Durand (20 March 1870 - 29 October 1922) was an American mycologist, and botanist. He was one of the foremost American experts on the discomycetes.
Elias Judah Durand was born in Canandaigua, New York to Rufus Durand, a farmer, and Anna Maria Sisson. He received his bachelor's degree in botany and entomology from Cornell University in 1893 and his Doctor of Science in botany in 1895 under George Francis Atkinson at Cornell. Following graduation he taught botany and mycology at Cornell until 1910, first as a fellow and later as an instructor. In 1910, Durand was appointed professor of botany at the University of Missouri, where he remained until 1918. In 1918, Durand was named professor at the University of Minnesota, where from 1920-1921 he was the Chairman of the Department of Botany. He remained at the University of Minnesota until his death from cancer on 29 October 1922. Durand is buried in the Durand family plot in Woodlawn Cemetery in Canandaigua, New York. He married Anna Louise Perry on 6 September 1899 and had one child, Anna Louise Durand (d. 1981), on 6 June 1901. Anna Louise died shortly after giving birth to their daughter on 11 June 1901. He married Sue Gertrude Stone (d. 1957) on 24 July 1917.
Durand contributed to a broad range of botanical sciences, ranging from bryology and pteridology to mycology. He was recognized and highly respected as an authority on discomycetes, and was one of the first Americans to study the group extensively. His personal collection, numbering 12,087 specimens of discomycetes, including 16 types, 27 paratypes, 2 syntypes, and 6,000 microscope slides, was deposited in the Plant Pathology Herbarium at Cornell University (CUP), helping establish that herbarium as a leading center for the study of discomycetes. Durand's collections included 650 types (mostly discomycetes) from other authors and herbaria, currently stored at Cornell University. Additional specimens Durand collected are stored in the herbaria of the Field Museum of Natural History, the University of Kentucky, the University of Minnesota, the New York Botanical Garden, and Pomona College.
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