[3] He graduated summa cum laude in 1941 with a major in botany from Dartmouth College and earned a M.S.

Then, after 7 months in Italy in 1944 as a B-24 bomber navigator with 40 missions over eastern and southern Europe, he served as an instructor and as an examinations officer at Ellington Field, Texas, from 1944 to 1945.

[5] After serving in the armed forces, he earned his Ph.D. in economic botany at Cornell University in 1949, studying under professors Walter Muenscher and Arthur Eames.

Visiting Associate Professor, University of Virginia, Mountain Lake Biological Station, Summer 1956.

"[4] Thorne was a guide and teacher for the many staff, students, researchers, and visitors of Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden through the years.