Wiggins, Ira L. (Ira Loren), 1899-1987

Ira Loren Wiggins (1899-1987) was born on January 1, 1899, in Madison, Wisconsin. He attended Occidental College of Los Angeles with the intent of becoming a Presbyterian minister, but his interests changed to botanical research. He received his bachelor's degree in philosophy in 1922 and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. That following year he worked at a farm in Shasta County and gained high school teaching credentials. He taught high school for a year, leaving to study towards a master's degree at Stanford University. From 1925-1927, he was an instructor at Occidental College and then returned to Stanford to receive his PhD. (1930). He was an assistant professor, associate professor, and full professor of botany at Stanford, where he remained until he retired as professor of biology, emeritus, in 1964. Ira had curatorial appointments in the Dudley Herbarium and was director of the Natural History Museum from 1940-1962. He studied and wrote about vegetation in California and the Galapagos. He died on November 28, 1987.

Smithsonian Institution Archives Field Book Project: Person : Description : rid_338_pid_EACP335

...