Awards

National Academies - 1901

American Association for the Advancement of Science

About David Mottier

David Myers Mottier was born on September 4, 1864 in the town of Patriot in Switzerland County, Indiana. The son of John David and Lydia (Myers) Mottier, he earned a B.A. from Indiana University in 1891 and his M.A. also from IU in 1892. His Ph.D. was completed at the University of Leipzig in Germany in 1898. He also spent time at the University of Bonn and he was Smithsonian Research Scientist at a Biological Field Station in Naples, Italy in 1898. Mottier served as instructor of botany, 1891-1893, associate professor, 1893-1898, professor, 1898-1937 at Indiana University. He served as department head of botany for thirty-nine years. He was recognized as a life member of the Botanical Society America, was a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, a member of the Washington Academy of Sciences, the Botanists of Central States, the American Society of Naturalists, Phi Beta Kappa, Sigma Xi, and has been listed as a noteworthy botanist by Marquis Who’s Who. Mottier was active with the Indiana Academy of Science, of which he was a charter member, a Fellow, and its president in 1907. He was described as an affable and charming person and a man of firm convictions, but who was ever sympathetic with struggling students as he was an excellent instructor. Among his notable publications were Practical Laboratory Guide for First Year in Botany (1902), Fecundation in Plants (1904), and College Textbook of Botany (1932). He was married to Antoinette J. Snyder in 1893. Mottier Hall, a building within Smithwood Hall (later called Ashton) was named in honor of Mottier in 1959.