Martin Lawrence Grant was born January 31, 1907, in Chelsea, Michigan. He received a bachelor's degree from Oberlin College in 1927. He received a master's degree in 1929 and doctoral degree in 1936 from the University of Minnesota. His master's thesis was Plant succession and climax in northern Minnesota; his doctoral dissertation was Flora of the Society Islands.
Professor Grant joined the Science Department at the Iowa State Teachers College (now the University of Northern Iowa) in September 1936. He taught botany, zoology, taxonomy, the history and philosophy of science, and many other courses. He was an active participant in debates on controversial issues of his day including faculty rights and governance, matters relating to retirement benefits, general education, and religion on campus.
He published articles and conducted research in the areas of plant communities, ornithology, and nature study. He traveled widely in the United States and abroad, including major research trips to the Society Islands, Colombia, and Iran. He was an avid collector of herbarium specimens and magazines from around the world. Martin Grant married Dorothy Sweet Grant in 1930. They had three children: Gordon, Jean, and Lois. Martin Grant died June 28, 1968.
Please see the Martin Lawrence and Dorothy Sweet Grant Papers in University Archives for more information.