William Henry Long was an American mycologist

Mycology

Mycology is the branch of biology concerned with the study of fungi, including their genetic and biochemical properties, their taxonomy and their use to humans as a source for tinder, medicinals , food and entheogens, as well as their dangers, such as poisoning or...

. He obtained his Bachelor degree at Baylor University

Baylor University

Baylor University is a private, Christian university located in Waco, Texas. Founded in 1845, Baylor is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.-History:...

 in Waco, Texas

Waco, Texas

Waco is a city in and the county seat of McLennan County, Texas. Situated along the Brazos River and on the I-35 corridor, halfway between Dallas and Austin, it is the economic, cultural, and academic center of the 'Heart of Texas' region....

 in 1888, and then served as Professor of Natural Sciences at this university until 1892. Long entered graduate studies in 1899 under the supervision of W.L. Bray and W.M. Wheeler in 1899, and obtained a masters degree in 1900. For the following nine years he was Professor of Botany at North Texas State Normal College at Denton

Denton

- Places :In England:* Denton, Cambridgeshire, part of Denton and Caldecote* Denton, County Durham* Denton, East Sussex* Denton, part of the town of Gravesend, Kent* Denton, Greater Manchester* Denton, Kent, a village near Canterbury...

. Under the guidance of George F. Atkinson, Long performed field work at Cornell University

Cornell University

Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...

, which eventually led to a PhD degree awarded from the University of Texas in 1917. His specialty was on tree rusts

Rust (fungus)

Rusts are plant diseases caused by pathogenic fungi of the order Pucciniales. About 7800 species are known. Rusts can affect a variety of plants; leaves, stems, fruits and seeds. Rust is most commonly seen as coloured powder, composed off tiny aeciospores which land on vegetation producing...

 and wood rotting fungi

Wood-decay fungus

A wood-decay fungus is a variety of fungus that digests moist wood, causing it to rot. Some wood-decay fungi attack dead wood, such as brown rot, and some, such as Armillaria , are parasitic and colonize living trees. Fungi that not only grow on wood but actually cause it to decay, are called...

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