Went, Frits W(armolt) (1903–1990)

Dutch plant physiologist. He performed research in Java, Indonesia (1928–32), then moved to the USA to join the California Institute of Technology (1933–58), where he co-discovered with Kenneth Vivian Thimann the plant growth hormones known as auxins; he devoted 20 years of research to these substances. Went invented the phytotron, a specialized greenhouse for investigations of the controlled effects of climate on plants. He became director of the Missouri Botanical Garden (1958–63), then was a professor at Washington University in St Louis, Missouri (1963–65). He relocated to the University of Nevada, Reno (1965–85), where he made a major contribution to the study of the environmental effects of volatile substances produced by desert plants. Went was born in Utrecht, Netherlands.