Howard S. Fawcett was a pioneer in the field of phytopathology. He was born in Salem, Ohio on April 12, 1877 to Quaker parents. He earned a B.S. from Iowa State College in 1905. Fawcett spent the first seven years of his career at the University of Florida, eventually earning a masters degree from the University of Florida at Gainesville in 1908.

Fawcett came to California in 1911. He took leave from his position in Riverside to pursue a doctorate from Johns Hopkins University, which he completed in 1918.

Fawcett made many significant contributions to his field. Among his notable achievements were his discovery of the cause of gummosis and his discovery of the cause and treatment for citrus scaly bark (psorosis). Later in his career, he was the lead scientist on a team of researchers investigating the cause of tristeza.

Fawcett indulged a creative side, writing stories inspired by his research under the moniker Mr. I. C. Bigg. In these fanciful tales, Mr. Bigg would shrink himself to 1/50,000th of his actual size and explore the submicrospoic aspects of citrus diseases. These stories were published in the California Citrograph. In addition, Fawcett participated in several radio programs performing as the University Explorer, a similar character to Mr. I.C. Bigg, who reduced his size in order to explore the submicroscopic realm. Titles of these broadcasts include "Through the Fungus Jungle" and "The Nearly Perfect Crime."

Fawcett retired from the Department of Plant Pathology at UC, Riverside in 1946. He passed away in 1948.

Bibliography:

Zentmyer, G. (1988). Howard Samuel Fawcett: Pioneer in phytopathology. Annual Review of Phytopathology, 26, 17-22. doi: https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/pdf/10.1146/annurev.py.26.090188.000313