George Massee

George Edward Massee (20 December 1845 – 16 February 1917) was an English mycologist, plant pathologist, and botanist.

Background and education

George Massee was born in Scampston, East Riding of Yorkshire, the son of a farmer. He was educated at York School of Art and claimed to have attended Downing College, Cambridge, though no record exists of him in the university or College Records.

South America and the Foreign Legion

Massee had an early interest in natural history, publishing an article on British woodpeckers at the age of 16 and compiling a portfolio of botanical paintings. Through the influence of Richard Spruce, a family relative, he was able to travel on a botanical expedition to Panama and Ecuador, where, despite considerable hardships, he collected orchids and other plants.

On his return, Massee joined the French Foreign Legion, hoping to see combat in the Franco-Prussian War, but, the war being almost over, he was prevailed upon to return home to the farm. He had nonetheless gained a "4th Chasseurs" tattoo on his arm as a result of his brief military adventure.

Mycological career

Back in Yorkshire, Massee developed a particular interest in fungi which he illustrated, his paintings attracting the attention of M.C. Cooke, the first head of mycology at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Having moved to London, he began a series of ambitious publications on fungi, whilst undertaking public lectures, and also working briefly at the Natural History Museum. When Cooke retired from Kew in 1893, Massee replaced him as Principal Assistant in Cryptogams, a post he retained till he himself retired in 1915. From 1904, Massee's assistant at Kew was A.D. Cotton who worked principally on the algae. In 1910 Elsie Wakefield also assisted Massee with the fungi, taking over his position after 1915.