Thimann, Kenneth Vivian (1904–1997)

English-born US plant physiologist. At the California Institute of Technology (1930–35) he and Frits Went co-discovered natural auxin, a hormone regulating both growth and its selective inhibition in plants; Thimann also demonstrated auxin-like functions in certain synthetic substances. At Harvard (1935–65), he investigated the physiology of bacteria, fungi, protozoa, and forest trees.

Thimann was born in Ashford, England. He taught in London (1926–30) before going to the USA in 1930. He published his studies of plant senescence (1980) while at the University of California: Santa Cruz (1965–84).