Argentine botanist. Carlos Alberto O'Donell was a key character in the formation of the Miguel Lillo Foundation in Tucumán and was its director between 1937 and 1954. His high school studies took place at the Manuel Belgrano National College and O'Donell went on to study pharmacy and plant anatomy at the School of Pharmacy and Biochemistry (University of Buenos Aires); here he was an assistant in pharmaceutical botany in 1935 and 1936 and graduated in 1937. This same year his publication on the anatomy of unusual plants in Argentine medical material awarded him the Nitre Association prize for chemistry and pharmacy. From this time until his death at the age of just 42 he worked at the Miguel Lillo Foundation. Initially as an assistant in botany and later as a professor he soon became responsible for the running of much of the Foundation.
Alongside Prof H. R. Descole (Rector of the University of Tucumán) O'Donell transformed the Foundation from Lillo's initial collection into a world renowned institution. As head of phanerogamic taxonomy (1942-1948) and of plant anatomy (1942-1945) O'Donell also conducted taxonomic research into the Zygophyllaceae, Euphorbiaceae and the Convolvulaceae, publishing extensive revisions of these families in over thirty articles. As Director of the Botanical Institute and Acting Director of the foundation, O'Donell ensured its smooth running, overseeing the publication of two journals, a Flora and Fauna of Argentina, directing numerous staff and personally supervising the Institutes exchanges. At the same time he taught between two and four classes in plant anatomy and undertook many other administrative roles, including chairman of the Faculty of Biological Sciences, assistant dean of the School of Pharmacy and was actively involved in the reorganisation of the university when Descole was absent. O'Donell was an energetic and devoted manager who maintained good personal relationships with the foundation's staff and in 1948 he had a son, Carlos Jr.
Sources:
Barkley, F. A., 1955, "Carlos Alberto O’Donell, 1912-1954", Brittonia 8(2):115-120.
