Arthur Disbrowe Cotton

Who was Arthur Disbrowe Cotton?

Arthur Disbrowe Cotton was an English plant pathologist, mycologist, phycologist, and botanist.

A.D. Cotton was born in London and educated at King's College School and the Royal College of Science, where he completed a degree in botany in 1901. He became a demonstrator there and subsequently at Owens College, Manchester, where he developed an interest in fungi, undertaking research into orchid mycorrhizas.

In 1904 he was appointed assistant to George Massee, head of mycology and crytogamic plants at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Cotton remained at Kew till 1915, officially working on algae, but also making time to pursue his particular interest in clavarioid fungi.

In 1915 he took charge of a newly established Plant Pathology Laboratory at Kew and in 1920 became Mycologist to the Board of Agriculture. In 1922, he returned to Kew to become Keeper of the Herbarium, a post he retained till his retirement in 1946.

A.D. Cotton was President of the British Mycological Society in 1913 and President of the Linnean Society of London between 1943 and 1946. He received an OBE for services to plant pathology in 1934.