Elba Emanuel Watson (1871 – September 27, 1936) was an American botanist, noted for his study of the genus Helianthus. [1] [2] [3]
Raised in Grand Rapids, Watson attended University of Michigan for his bachelor's degree. [4] After graduation, Watson taught German in a high school located in Greater New York for many years. [5] He later returned to University of Michigan and earned his M.S. in botany in 1918. He then remained in the university one more year to work as a teaching assistant. [5] [4] [6] After moving back to the Greater New York area, he worked at New York Botanical Garden for a year and then taught at Rutgers College for a year. [5] In 1922, he entered the Graduate School of Michigan State College, and in 1926, completed his Ph.D. thesis on the genus Helianthus. [5] Watson worked as a German instructor after receiving his Ph.D. [5] After his sudden death at age 65, he was buried in Okemos, MI. [7]
The standard author abbreviation E.Watson is used to indicate this person as the author when citing a botanical name. [8]
It was Elba Emanuel Watson, however, who reclassified it into todays valid botanical systematics in 1929.