Sparrow, Frederick K. (Frederick Kroeber), 1903-1977.

Professor of botany at the University of Michigan.

Frederick K. Sparrow, internationally known expert on botany and mycology, was born on May 11, 1903 in Washington, D.C. He attended the University of Michigan as an undergraduate and received his B.S. in 1925. In that same year, he married Anna (Nan) Gabler, a scholar in the field of literature. Sparrow did his graduate work at Harvard University, where he earned his M.A. in 1926 and his Ph. D. in 1929.

From 1929 to 1936 Sparrow held a variety of positions, including instructor at Dartmouth and research fellow at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute.

In 1936, Sparrow became a member of the faculty of the University of Michigan, where he remained for 37 years. He was considered to be an excellent teacher, and was highly respected for his productive research. He was closely associated with the University's Biological Station and became its director in 1968.

During his career, Dr. Sparrow received numerous awards and honors. From the University of Michigan, he received the Russel Award, the highest award given to faculty, for excellence in teaching and research, and from the Botanical Society of America he received the Award of Merit. He was elected president of several organizations, including the Michigan Academy of Arts, Sciences, and Letters, the Mycological Society of America, and the Second International Mycological Congress.

Sparrow and his wife continued to live in Ann Arbor after his retirement in 1973, and he remained actively involved in research and academic life until his death in 1977.