Lev Kursanov

Born Jan. 25 (Feb. 6), 1877, in Oziablikovo, in present-day Vacha Raion, Gorky Oblast; died Dec. 11, 1954, in Moscow. Soviet botanist. Honored Scientist of the RSFSR (1942).

In 1900, Kursanov graduated from Moscow University, where he later taught. In 1918 he became a professor and the head of the university’s subdepartment of lower plants, which he had organized. Kursanov’s principal works were on the morphology and cytology of algae and fungi (especially rust fungi), the nature of parasitism, and plant diseases. He was the author and coauthor of a number of textbooks for institutions of higher education. He was also the editor in chief of A Key to Lower Plants (vols. 1–5, 1953–60). Kursanov was awarded the Order of Lenin, two other orders, and various medals.