Botanist, Educator & Administrator
Charles Bessey (1845 - 1915) was a highly recognized botany and horticulture professor at the University of Nebraska.
He taught at the university from 1884 - 1915 and served as chancellor from 1888 - 1891.
Bessey authored a federal legislation establishing agricultural experimentation stations at land-grant universities. His experiments with tree planting in the Nebraska Sandhills and his tireless promotion of the idea led to the establishment of the man-made Nebraska National Forest by President Theodore Roosevelt in 1902.
Charles Bessey was inducted into the Nebraska Hall of Fame in 2007.
Other Resources:
Charles E. Bessey - biographical column
(Chancellor Bessey's perspective of smoking on campus)
(The result of Bessey's suggestion to plant trees in the Sand Hills.)
