Clayton Oscar Person, CM FRSC (May 16, 1922 – September 1, 1990) was recognized internationally as an authority on the genetics of host-parasite relations.
After service overseas in the Royal Canadian Navy from 1941-1945, he returned to enroll at the University of Saskatchewan where he was awarded Honours in Biology in 1950 and the MA in 1951.
Person has served the Canadian scientific community in various capacities, including participation in the establishment of the Genetics Society of Canada and later as its president; as Chairman of the NSERC Committee for Plant Biology, and as a member of the Canadian National Committee for the International Union of Biological Science.
His major research contribution has been to clarify the genetic basis of microevolutionary change in host-parasite systems.
His work constitutes a major contribution to modern theory of host-parasite interaction in plant populations.