Earl Lemley Core

Core was named botanist for the Colombia Cinchona Mission, Bogota, Colombia, from 1943 to 1945 during which assignment he explored in the Andes Mountains in search of wartime sources of quinine from the Cinchona tree.

In 1937, Core wrote The Chronicles of Core, a history of his home community. In 1960 he published Morgantown Disciples, a history of the First Christian Church of Morgantown, West Virginia. Late in life he embarked upon an extensive five-volume history of Monongalia County, West Virginia (1974–84), completing the last volume shortly before his death. This material had been published over a period of 12 years in a weekly column of the Morgantown Dominion Post newspaper.

Core became an instructor at WVU in 1928 and remained on the faculty for over 44 years. He progressed to assistant professor in 1934, associate professor in 1941, professor in 1942, and professor emeritus in 1972. Core was chairman of the Biology Department from 1948 to 1966. He served as curator of the university herbarium from 1934 until his retirement in 1972. In addition, he served as a member of the summer faculty at Ohio State University between 1939 and 1941, and of Concord College in 1961.

Earl Lemley Core (January 20, 1902 – December 8, 1984) was a botanist and botanical educator, researcher, and author as well as a local West Virginia historian. He was founder of the Southern Appalachian Botanical Club and editor of its journal, Castanea, for thirty-five years. He was a teacher and professor at West Virginia University (WVU) from 1928 to 1972. He served for four years on the Morgantown City Council, and served as mayor of Morgantown for two years. The Earl L. Core Arboretum at WVU was named in his honor in 1967.

Core was born on January 20, 1902, at Core, West Virginia, the son of Harry Michael and Clara Edna (née Lemley) Core. He graduated from Morgantown High School and taught in rural schools from 1920 to 1923. He then attended WVU, earning a Bachelor of Arts in 1926 and a Master of Arts in 1928. He earned his Doctor of Philosophy degree in 1936 from Columbia University. His dissertation was on the systematics of the sedge genus Scleria.