Oosting, Henry J. (Henry John), 1903-1968

Henry John Oosting, Professor of Botany and Chairman of the Department of Botany, worked at Duke University from 1931 to 1962. He was born March 12, 1903 in Holland, Michigan to John H. and Minna Oosting. He earned an A.B. from Hope College in 1925, an M.S. from Michigan State College in 1927, and a Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota in 1931. Oosting joined the faculty of the Department of Botany at Duke University in 1931, and later served as Chairman of the Department. His research interests included the ecology of virgin forests, vegetation on bare rocks, maritime vegetation in the Southeastern United States, and North Carolina vegetation. In 1937, he served as ecologist for the Louise A. Boyd expedition to Greenland with the American Geographical Society, and he directed the Victory Garden project in Durham, N.C. in 1943. Oosting actively participated in the Ecological Society of America and edited the serial Ecological Monographs . Oosting retired from Duke University around 1962; he died on October 30, 1968.

Henry J. Oosting served as a Professor of Botany and as Chairman of the Department of Botany at Duke University from 1931 to 1962.