The avocado is a medium-sized, evergreen tree in the laurel family (Lauraceae). It is native to the Americas and was first domesticated in Mesoamerica more than 5,000 years ago. Then as now it was prized for its large and unusually oily fruit. The tree likely originated in the highlands bridging south-central Mexico and Guatemala. Its fruit, sometimes also referred to as an alligator pear or avocado pear, is botanically a large berry containing a single large seed. Sequencing of its genome showed that the evolution of avocados was shaped by polyploidy events and that commercial varieties have an hybrid origin. Avocado trees are partly self-pollinating, and are often propagated through grafting to maintain consistent fruit output. Avocados are presently cultivated in the tropical and Mediterranean climates of many countries. Mexico is the world's leading producer of avocados as of 2020, supplying nearly 30% of the global harvest in that year.
The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is an American international non-profit organization with the stated goals of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific responsibility, and supporting scientific education and science outreach for the betterment of all humanity. AAAS was the first permanent organization to promote science and engineering nationally and to represent the interests of American researchers from across all scientific fields. It is the world's largest general scientific society, with over 120,000 members, and is the publisher of the well-known scientific journal Science.
Venture Church Network is Baptist Christian association of churches in the United States with each local congregation being autonomous and responsible for their own way of functioning.
The Association of American Law Schools (AALS), formed in 1900, is a non-profit organization of 176 law schools in the United States. An additional 18 schools pay a fee to receive services but are not members. AALS incorporated as a 501(c)(3) non-profit educational organization in 1971. The association is a member of both the American Council on Education and the American Council of Learned Societies its headquarters are in Washington, D.C.
John William Gardner was Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare (HEW) under President Lyndon Johnson. He was a strong advocate for citizen participation and founded Common Cause; he became known as "the father of campaign finance reform". He was the only Republican in Johnson's cabinet.
The Medical Library Association (MLA) is a nonprofit educational organization with more than 3,400 health-sciences information professional members.
The Association for Psychological Science (APS), previously the American Psychological Society, is an international non-profit organization whose mission is to promote, protect, and advance the interests of scientifically oriented psychology in research, application, teaching, and the improvement of human welfare. APS publishes several journals, holds an annual meeting, disseminates psychological science research findings to the general public, and works with policymakers to strengthen support for scientific psychology.
The Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania is a non-stock, not-for-profit organization headquartered in Warwick, New York. It is the main legal entity used worldwide by Jehovah's Witnesses to direct, administer and disseminate doctrines for the group and is often referred to by members of the denomination simply as "the Society". It is the parent organization of a number of Watch Tower subsidiaries, including the Watchtower Society of New York and International Bible Students Association. The number of voting shareholders of the corporation is limited to between 300 and 500 "mature, active and faithful" male Jehovah's Witnesses. About 5,800 Jehovah's Witnesses provide voluntary unpaid labour, as members of a religious order, in three large Watch Tower Society facilities in New York. Nearly 15,000 other members of the order work at the Watch Tower Society's other facilities worldwide.
The Hass avocado is a variety of avocado with dark green, bumpy skin. It was first grown and sold by Southern California mail carrier and amateur horticulturist Rudolph Hass, who also gave it his name.
George Frederick Reinhardt (1911–1971) was an American foreign service officer and diplomat from 1937 until 1968. He was considered by his peers to be among the finest diplomats of his era. Reinhardt was the U.S. ambassador to South Vietnam (1955–1957), to the United Arab Republic and North Yemen (1960–1961) and to Italy (1961–1968). In Vietnam, he worked to improve relations between the United States and South Vietnamese Prime Minister Ngo Dinh Diem.
Herbert John Webber was an American plant physiologist, professor emeritus of sub-tropical horticulture, first director of the University of California Citrus Experiment Station, and the third curator of the University of California Citrus Variety Collection. Webber was the author of several publications on horticulture, member of numerous professional horticultural and agricultural associations. He coined the word "clone" in 1903 and was the first to use it to describe a colony of organisms derived asexually from a single progenitor.
The Art Libraries Society of North America is an organization of approximately 1,000 art librarians, library students and visual resource professionals. The ARLIS/NA was founded in 1972.
Bishop Kenny High School is a private, college-preparatory, coeducational Catholic high school in Jacksonville, Florida. It is located in and administered by the Roman Catholic Diocese of St. Augustine. The founder Archbishop Joseph Patrick Hurley established the school in 1952, following the merger of three previous Catholic high schools in the Jacksonville area. Bishop Kenny High School was renamed in honor of William John Kenny, the third bishop of the Diocese of St. Augustine.
The University of California Citrus Experiment Station is the founding unit of the University of California, Riverside campus in Riverside, California, United States. The station contributed greatly to the cultivation of the orange and the overall agriculture industry in California. Established February 14, 1907, the station celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2007.
The California Strawberry Commission, is a state-chartered agency of the California Department of Food and Agriculture. Established by the California State Legislature in 1993, the commission replaced the California Strawberry Advisory Board. The commission represents nearly 600 strawberry shippers, processors and growers within the state of California. The commission is not funded by tax payers but by self-taxation or assessments on California strawberry growers. The amount assessed is approved annually by the commission board of directors. This assessment pays for the commission’s activities and projects.
The California Avocado Commission is an agricultural marketing organization and trade association serving avocado producers in the American state of California.
John Francis Henning was a U.S. labor leader, civil servant, and a former U.S. Ambassador to New Zealand (1967–1969) and Under Secretary of Labor (1962–1967). Called "one of organized labor's greatest leaders" and "legendary" for his defense of labor, he is also credited with a positive role in the defense of minimum wage laws and civil rights.
The Association of Environmental & Engineering Geologists (AEG), is the principal American association of professionals in the fields of geotechnical engineering, engineering geology, soils engineering, hydrological engineering, and environmental geology. The association also includes geologists, civil engineers, structural engineers, ecologists, petroleum engineers and others in fields relating to engineering geology and its effects on the environment.
Ira Judson Condit (1883–1981) was an American horticulturist who studied subtropical fruits, including the fig, the olive, and the avocado.
John Eliot Coit was an American professor specializing in the horticultural fields of avocado, citrus and carob, and second curator of University of California Citrus Variety Collection
