Gordon Haines True, Jr.

Biographical Sketch, by Hany Abdoun, Archives Intern

Gordon Haines True, Jr. was born on February 28, 1908 in Reno, Nevada. In 1929 he received his B.A. in Animal Science from U.C. Davis and in 1931 he received his M.A. in Parasitology from U.C. Berkeley.

Upon completion of his M.A., True was appointed by the California State Department of Fish and Game in Southern California as a Parasitologist. In the early 1930's he was transferred to an Administrative Post in the reorganized Bureau of Game Conservation in San Francisco. True was involved in a car accident that caused him to apply for physical disability retirement in 1946. He moved to Grass Valley, Nevada where he bought a dairy ranch and collected local plants. He returned to California in 1963 and was encouraged by John Thomas Howell of the California Academy of Sciences to continue his collection and research. True became a Research Associate in the Botany Department at the California Academy of Sciences in 1965 and was later elected a Fellow of the Academy.

True was a member of many scientific organizations including the California Botanical Club and the Northern Nevada Native Plant Society.Gordon Haines True, Jr. died on March 9, 1984.

Sources Consulted:

Eulogy, 1984.

Point Reyes Newsletter, 1970.