Frank Edwin Egler
| Frank Edwin Egler | |
|---|---|
| Born | April 26, 1911 |
| Died | December 26, 1996 (aged 85) |
| Doctoral advisor | George E. Nichols |
| Other academic advisors | William Skinner Cooper |
| Influences | Henry Chandler Cowles |
| Influenced | Rachel Carson |
| Author abbrev. (botany) | Egler |
Frank Edwin Egler (April 26, 1911 – December 26, 1996) was an American plant ecologist and pioneer in the study of vegetation science. He is of historical significance through his assistance to Rachel Carson in preparing Silent Spring.
Egler was born in New York City, growing up on Manhattan’s West Side. Fifth-grade bird-watching trips to green spaces in the city instilled a love of nature in the frail boy [3]. He went on to the New York State College of Forestry at Syracuse, to pursue a career in landscape engineering, but switched to plant ecology and the University of Chicago, graduating in 1932. At Chicago, he was a student in the last course taught by Henry C. Cowles [([4])].
Egler obtained his M.S. in plant ecology from the University of Minnesota in 1934, and his Ph.D. from Yale University in 1936. At Minnesota, he studied with William Skinner Cooper, joining one of the most remarkable cohorts of students ever assembled under one professor (Burgess, p. 193). It included Rexford F. Daubenmire, Murray Fife Buell, and Henry J. Oosting (who went on to become presidents of the Ecological Society of America). Egler had intended to continue under Cooper for his Ph.D., but switched to George E. Nichols and Yale, after Nichols offered him a fellowship to study the vegetation around the Egler summer home in northern Connecticut. Egler had already embarked on its study for his dissertation when Nichols made the offer.
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