Arthur Bliss Seymour

Arthur Bliss Seymour (January 3, 1859 – March 29, 1933) was an American botanist and mycologist who specialized in parasitic fungi. He worked at the Harvard University Herbarium.

Early life

Seymour was born in Moline, Illinois on January 3, 1859. Before the age of five he caught scarlet fever, which left him with permanent hearing loss. This condition has been attributed to his early interest in plants and interest in becoming a naturalist. Between 1892 and 1903 he was co-editor of three other exsiccata works called Decades of North American lichens and Lichenes boreali-americani with Clara Eaton Cummings and Thomas Albert Williams. He also had a passion for natural science education, donating specimens and service to both schools and universities. He also continued lecturing on a part-time basis, both a mycology course at Cambridge and a botany course at Radcliffe College.