Hecht, Adolph, 1914-

Professor of Botany at Washington State University, 1947-1979.

From the description of Papers, 1945-1975. (Washington State University). WorldCat record id: 52589368

Adolph Hecht was born on 25 July 1914, in Chicago, Illinois. He attended Calumet High School, receiving his diploma in 1932. Hecht earned his B.S. and M.S. degrees in botany from the University of Chicago in 1936 and 1937. His master's thesis was on the meiotic irregularities of a sterile Rudbeckia. Hecht completed his Ph.D. in botany at Indiana University, where he studied with the plant geneticist Ralph E. Cleland. He received his degree in 1942. For his doctoral dissertation, Hecht conducted a cytogenetic survey of Oenothera, subgenus Rudbeckia.

In 1947, after serving as an aviation physiologist in the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II, Hecht came to Pullman, where be came an assistant professor of botany at Washington State College. He replaced Hannah Aase, a long-time botanist at the college. Hecht became chair of the WSC Department of Botany in 1955 and retired from Washington State University in 1979 as a full professor. He has published widely in the field of plant genetics.

From the guide to the Adolph Hecht Papers, 1945-1975, (Washington State University Libraries Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections)