Carleton Roy Ball

Carleton Roy Ball
Born	June 12, 1873 Little Rock, Iowa
Died	February 2, 1958(1958-02-02) (aged 84) Washington, D.C.
Alma mater	Iowa State College
Scientific career
Fields	Botany
Institutions	American Society of Agronomy USDA

Carleton Roy Ball (1873—1958) was an American botanist.

Biography

C. R. Ball was born on June 12, 1873 in Little Rock, Iowa. In 1896 he graduated with a bachelor's degree from Iowa State College and master's degree from the same place by 1899. For two years he was a teacher at his university where he performed experiments with seeds. A year before obtaining his master's degree he became a part of the United States Division of Agrostology where he studied various grasses and perform agronomic experiments. In 1906 he performed experiments with grain sorghums and broomcorn to be used in lieu of corn. When World War I began he was testing various wheats and its production. From 1918 to 1929 he was working at the USDA. During his life he described 45 species of plants that all were part of willow genus and was also a founder of American Society of Agronomy and its journal editor. After his death he was commemorated with the plaque at the United States National Arboretum in Washington D.C. where he died on February 2, 1958.