George L. Slate served as Professor of Pomology at the New York State Agricultural Experiment Station at Geneva. He graduated from the Massachusetts Agricultural College in 1922 and earned a Master's degree from Harvard. At Geneva, he was responsible for the small fruit breeding program, naming 11 red raspberries, 6 black raspberries, 3 purple raspberries, 3 blackberries, and 18 strawberries. An avid gardener, he spent many years raising nut trees and lilies as a hobby. He was a founding member of the North American Lily Society, whose yearbook he edited for almost thirty years; secretary and president of the Northern Nut Growers Association; and a member of American Society for Horticultural Science, of which he was named a fellow. Among numerous other awards, he received the E. H. Wilson Award from the North American Lily Society in 1960.