Clarence James Hickman

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Clarence James Hickman (April 1, 1914 – September 24, 1980) was a British-Canadian mycologist best known for proving in 1940 that the oomycete Phytophthora fragariae causes red stele, a disease that damages strawberry roots (also called red core root disease).

He was born in Birmingham, UK. At the University of Birmingham he earned a BSc in 1934, an MSc in 1937, and a PhD in 1936. As a young scientist he worked as an assistant in the Ministry of Agriculture Service (1936–1938) and then as a research officer at the Plant Pathology Laboratory in Harpenden (1938–1944).

Back at Birmingham, he was a lecturer (1944–1955) and then a reader (1955–1960). He was active in the British Mycological Society, serving as secretary (1948–1952) and as president (1957–1958). His 1958 presidential address gave a clear summary of Phytophthora, including its biology, how it survives and spreads, the plants it infects, and its special adaptations.

In 1960 Hickman moved to Canada to join the University of Western Ontario, where he was a full professor of botany and later the head of the botany department. He retired as professor emeritus and died in London, Ontario.