Fuller, George

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George Damon Fuller was born in Adamsville, Quebec on January 18, 1869. He began his pedagogical career teaching in small public schools in Quebec, before moving on to study at McGill University (B.A. 1901).

Following several years of work as an educator and research fellow, Fuller entered University of Chicago as a graduate student in botany in 1907. Mentored by Henry C. Cowles, Fuller conducted research on the ecology of the Indiana Dunes and the Starved Rock area. After earning an S.M. in 1912 and Ph.D. in 1913, he went on to teach courses in ecology, botany and zoology at the university, serving on the faculty of the Department of Botany until 1934. Like Cowles, Fuller emphasized the study of ecology in the field, leading trips to Colorado, Washington, British Columbia, Wisconsin and Michigan.

Fuller's research on forest and prairie ecology in the Midwest resulted in several journal articles, and culminated in the exhaustive Vascular Plants of Illinois, co-authored with G. Neville Jones and published in 1955. His professional activities included editorial positions with the journals Ecology and Botanical Gazette, and leadership in the Ecological Society of America and the Illinois State Academy of Science.

Public education was important to Fuller throughout his career, and he was active as a science writer and educator for children and lay audiences. Magazines and newspapers published his writings about plant life, and he had a long association with the Illinois State Museum.

Fuller married Louise Miller in 1908, and had a son (Damon) and daughter (Janet). He died on November 22, 1961 at age 92.

From the guide to the Fuller, George D. Papers, 1887-1929, (Special Collections Research Center University of Chicago Library 1100 East 57th Street Chicago, Illinois 60637 U.S.A.)

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