In Memory of Oscar Gray Bacon: Noted UC Davis Entomologist

DAVIS, CA – By Kathy Keatley Garvey:

Noted agricultural entomologist Oscar Gray Bacon, who during his 41-year UC career, chaired the UC Davis Department of Entomology and served as a special assistant to UC Davis Chancellor Emil Mrak, died Nov. 16 at his home in Davis. He was 97.

The emeritus professor, who retired in 1987, was the last surviving member of the original entomology faculty.

Dr. Bacon chaired the department (now the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology) from 1967 to 1974. In 1964, Mrak appointed him to spearhead the UC Davis conversion of the two-semester system to four quarters.

Dr. Bacon was chair of the entomology department when it moved to the newly constructed Briggs Hall in 1972. An appreciative faculty presented him with a plaque thanking him for his “stewardship during a period when new teaching and research areas were initiated and when a great increase in the numbers of students enrolled in the department occurred has contributed significantly to the future of the department and to entomology.”

As a 41-year UC agricultural entomologist, Dr. Bacon specialized in the biology, ecology and population dynamics of insects associated with field crops. He pioneered the biological control course on the UC Davis campus and was instrumental in forming the Plant Protection and Pest Management Graduate Group. He is credited with co-authoring the term, “integrated pest control.”

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