Percy Albert Davies papers

Percy Albert Davies was born in 1896. A native of Colorado, Davies attended Colorado A&M where he completed his B.S. (1922) and M.S. degrees (1923). He finished his Ph.D. at Harvard University in the spring of 1926 and began a teaching position in the Biology Department at the University of Louisville in the fall of that year. before enrolling at Harvard. A specialist in botany, Davies served as head of the biology department at U of L from 1931 until 1956 as well as chairman of the Division of Natural Sciences from 1944 until his death in January 1961.

During the 1940s, Davies developed an interest in Shortia galacifolia, a plant native to the American southeast. Botanist Asa Gray named Shortia in honor of his friend and colleague, Dr. Charles Wilkins Short, a professor of material medica at the Louisville Medical Institute and at U of L from 1838 until 1849. Davies began a study of the history and botanical characteristics of the plant with the idea of publishing a book on Charles Wilkins Short and the plant named in his honor. Although Davies published several articles out of these studies, his book never saw print. T