Olmsted, Charles Edward.

Charles Edward Olmsted (1908-1976), a native of Colorado, was educated at University of Nebraska, University of Oklahoma, and Yale University. Olmsted came to the University of Chicago as a Coulter Fellow in Botany in 1933. He completed his Yale Ph.D. in 1936 with a dissertation on Connecticut sand plains. Olmsted's research and teaching on botany and ecology continued at the University of Chicago until his retirement.

At University of Chicago, Olmsted's own research focused on plant growth and development, particularly photoperiodism (the response of plants to light) in range grasses and sugar maples. More broadly, Olmsted was concerned with the ecology of grasslands, forests and sand dunes.

Olmsted was named chair of the Department of Botany in 1953, a role he held until 1968, when the department merged with that of zoology. He was also active in university-wide committees and governance, contributing to administrative direction in development, campus housing, admissions and aid, and changes in undergraduate education.

Olmsted was involved with the Botanical Gazette for 26 years, serving alternately as associate editor and editor from 1942-1968. He also served as an editor of Ecology, held leadership roles in professional organizations, and worked as a consultant or advisor for publishers, major science foundations, and the National Park Service.

As a conservation activist, Olmsted sought to educate lawmakers and the public on the value of the Midwest's natural environments, such as prairies, forests, dunes and wetlands. His work with the Save the Dunes Council helped establish the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore; he was also involved with the establishments of other preserves in Michigan, downstate Illinois and the Chicago area. He served on the boards of Chicago-area conservation groups, the Illinois State Board of Natural Resources and Conservation, and the Illinois Nature Preserve Commission.

Olmsted retired from the university in 1973, moving to Boulder, Colorado. He died in 1976 at age 68.

From the guide to the Olmsted, Charles E. Papers, circa 1880s-1980s, (Special Collections Research Center University of Chicago Library 1100 East 57th Street Chicago, Illinois 60637 U.S.A.)