Born April 21, 1862, in Carlinville, Macoupin County, Illinois, he gained a BA from the University of Missouri in 1884, and joined the USDA Section of Plant Pathology seven years later.
In 1913 Dorsett began his first foreign expedition, to Brazil, with Archibald Dixon Shamel and Wilson Popenoe.
[1] Returning to the US in 1932, he retired from the USDA, but joined the Allison Vincent Armour agricultural expedition to the British West Indies and Guianas the same year.
In 1936 he was awarded the 13th Frank N. Meyer Medal by the Council of the American Genetic Association for "distinguished actions related to the collection, preservation, or utilization of germplasm resources".
In contrast to his illustrious career, his private life had been blighted by the premature deaths of his wife Mary Virginia (née Payne) and two of his daughters.