Elbert Luther Little, Jr. was an internationally known scientist and expert in the identification and classification of trees (dendrology). He had a long and distinguished career with the United States Forest Service from 1934 to 1976, culminating in his appointment as chief dendrologist from 1967 to 1975. In retirement he continued writing and served as a research associate with the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. He lived in Arlington, Virginia from 1946 to 2000, when he relocated to Eugene, Oregon.
Little was born in Fort Smith, Arkansas to Elbert Luther and Josephine (Conner) Little on October 15, 1907. The family moved with his younger sister Josephine to Muskogee, Oklahoma in 1909. There he graduated from high school in 1923 and attended Muskogee Junior College during 1923-24. He then studied three more years at the University of Oklahoma, receiving a B.A. in botany in 1927. Little went on to graduate study at the University of Chicago, earning both an M.S. and Ph.D. in botany in 1929.
On August 14, 1943, Little married Ruby Rema Rice, a research botanist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Little died on June 18, 2004, in Eugene, Oregon at the age of 96; Ruby Little died on January 29, 2009 in Eugene at the age of 102. They were survived by two sons, Gordon and Melvin, and a daughter, Alice, and four grandchildren.
Little authored or coauthored over 150 handbooks, bulletins, and articles on trees and forest ecology as well as 25 books, both technical and popular. Among them are the six-volume Atlas of United States Trees and the two-volume Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Trees. Among numerous honors, he received a Distinguished Service Award from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Barrington Moore Memorial Award from the Society of American Foresters, and a Meritorious Service Award from the Oklahoma Academy of Sciences.
Little's obituary was published in the Eugene, Oregon, Register-Guard on June 23, 2004. A detailed biographical article appears in the Proceedings of the Oklahoma Academy of Sciences, Vol. 73, 1993, pages 81-82 (available online).
Little's ashes were spread in the Willamette National Forest in Oregon; a monument memorializing both Little and his wife Ruby was placed in the Bethany Baptist Church Cemetery, Corryton, Tennessee.
By Joe Schallan, Find A Grave Contributor #47770375
Little was born in Fort Smith, Arkansas to Elbert Luther and Josephine (Conner) Little on October 15, 1907. The family moved with his younger sister Josephine to Muskogee, Oklahoma in 1909. There he graduated from high school in 1923 and attended Muskogee Junior College during 1923-24. He then studied three more years at the University of Oklahoma, receiving a B.A. in botany in 1927. Little went on to graduate study at the University of Chicago, earning both an M.S. and Ph.D. in botany in 1929.
On August 14, 1943, Little married Ruby Rema Rice, a research botanist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Little died on June 18, 2004, in Eugene, Oregon at the age of 96; Ruby Little died on January 29, 2009 in Eugene at the age of 102. They were survived by two sons, Gordon and Melvin, and a daughter, Alice, and four grandchildren.
Little authored or coauthored over 150 handbooks, bulletins, and articles on trees and forest ecology as well as 25 books, both technical and popular. Among them are the six-volume Atlas of United States Trees and the two-volume Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Trees. Among numerous honors, he received a Distinguished Service Award from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Barrington Moore Memorial Award from the Society of American Foresters, and a Meritorious Service Award from the Oklahoma Academy of Sciences.
Little's obituary was published in the Eugene, Oregon, Register-Guard on June 23, 2004. A detailed biographical article appears in the Proceedings of the Oklahoma Academy of Sciences, Vol. 73, 1993, pages 81-82 (available online).
Little's ashes were spread in the Willamette National Forest in Oregon; a monument memorializing both Little and his wife Ruby was placed in the Bethany Baptist Church Cemetery, Corryton, Tennessee.
By Joe Schallan, Find A Grave Contributor #47770375
Elbert Luther Little, Jr. was an internationally known scientist and expert in the identification and classification of trees (dendrology). He had a long and distinguished career with the United States Forest Service from 1934 to 1976, culminating in his appointment as chief dendrologist from 1967 to 1975. In retirement he continued writing and served as a research associate with the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. He lived in Arlington, Virginia from 1946 to 2000, when he relocated to Eugene, Oregon.
Little was born in Fort Smith, Arkansas to Elbert Luther and Josephine (Conner) Little on October 15, 1907. The family moved with his younger sister Josephine to Muskogee, Oklahoma in 1909. There he graduated from high school in 1923 and attended Muskogee Junior College during 1923-24. He then studied three more years at the University of Oklahoma, receiving a B.A. in botany in 1927. Little went on to graduate study at the University of Chicago, earning both an M.S. and Ph.D. in botany in 1929.
On August 14, 1943, Little married Ruby Rema Rice, a research botanist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Little died on June 18, 2004, in Eugene, Oregon at the age of 96; Ruby Little died on January 29, 2009 in Eugene at the age of 102. They were survived by two sons, Gordon and Melvin, and a daughter, Alice, and four grandchildren.
Little authored or coauthored over 150 handbooks, bulletins, and articles on trees and forest ecology as well as 25 books, both technical and popular. Among them are the six-volume Atlas of United States Trees and the two-volume Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Trees. Among numerous honors, he received a Distinguished Service Award from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Barrington Moore Memorial Award from the Society of American Foresters, and a Meritorious Service Award from the Oklahoma Academy of Sciences.
Little's obituary was published in the Eugene, Oregon, Register-Guard on June 23, 2004. A detailed biographical article appears in the Proceedings of the Oklahoma Academy of Sciences, Vol. 73, 1993, pages 81-82 (available online).
Little's ashes were spread in the Willamette National Forest in Oregon; a monument memorializing both Little and his wife Ruby was placed in the Bethany Baptist Church Cemetery, Corryton, Tennessee.
By Joe Schallan, Find A Grave Contributor #47770375
Little was born in Fort Smith, Arkansas to Elbert Luther and Josephine (Conner) Little on October 15, 1907. The family moved with his younger sister Josephine to Muskogee, Oklahoma in 1909. There he graduated from high school in 1923 and attended Muskogee Junior College during 1923-24. He then studied three more years at the University of Oklahoma, receiving a B.A. in botany in 1927. Little went on to graduate study at the University of Chicago, earning both an M.S. and Ph.D. in botany in 1929.
On August 14, 1943, Little married Ruby Rema Rice, a research botanist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Little died on June 18, 2004, in Eugene, Oregon at the age of 96; Ruby Little died on January 29, 2009 in Eugene at the age of 102. They were survived by two sons, Gordon and Melvin, and a daughter, Alice, and four grandchildren.
Little authored or coauthored over 150 handbooks, bulletins, and articles on trees and forest ecology as well as 25 books, both technical and popular. Among them are the six-volume Atlas of United States Trees and the two-volume Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Trees. Among numerous honors, he received a Distinguished Service Award from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Barrington Moore Memorial Award from the Society of American Foresters, and a Meritorious Service Award from the Oklahoma Academy of Sciences.
Little's obituary was published in the Eugene, Oregon, Register-Guard on June 23, 2004. A detailed biographical article appears in the Proceedings of the Oklahoma Academy of Sciences, Vol. 73, 1993, pages 81-82 (available online).
Little's ashes were spread in the Willamette National Forest in Oregon; a monument memorializing both Little and his wife Ruby was placed in the Bethany Baptist Church Cemetery, Corryton, Tennessee.
By Joe Schallan, Find A Grave Contributor #47770375
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