# Alice Withrow

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**Alice Victoria Phillips Withrow** (September 5, 1907 – April 28, 1998) was an American botanist, plant physiologist and researcher of [plant photochemistry](/source/Photochemistry).[1] Her focus of study was "the effect of light on the flowering and reproduction of plants" and along with her husband she developed a pioneering method of [hydroponics](/source/Hydroponics).[2][3][4]

## Biography

Withrow was born on September 5, 1907 in [Louisville, Kentucky](/source/Louisville,_Kentucky) to Roscoe M. and Ollie (Snawder) Phillips.[5][6] She attended [Butler University](/source/Butler_University) (B.A. degree, botany, 1929) and [University of Cincinnati](/source/University_of_Cincinnati) (M.A. degree, 1931), where her master's thesis "Life forms and leaf size classes of certain plant communities of the Cincinnati region" was overseen by [Emma Lucy Braun](/source/Emma_Lucy_Braun)[4][7] and published 1932 in the journal *[Ecology](/source/Ecology_(journal))*.[8] In 1931, she married [Robert Bruce Withrow](/source/Robert_Bruce_Withrow). Their honeymoon trip was the journey to [Purdue University](/source/Purdue_University) where they both had new jobs[2] and she later completed her Ph.D.[5][9][10]

During World War II Withrow and her husband were consulting scientists for the [U.S. Air Force](/source/U.S._Air_Force) on the problem of growing plants without soil, in part so that the military could "grow perishable vegetables on sandy bases in the Pacific."[2] In May 1945 Withrow was preparing hydroponics kits for shipment to [Canton Island](/source/Canton_Island_Airport#World_War_II), [Espiritu](/source/Naval_Advance_Base_Espiritu_Santo) and [Ascension Island](/source/Ascension_Island#World_War_II), with later installations planned for [Port Moresby](/source/Port_Moresby_Airfield_Complex) and [Karachi](/source/Jinnah_International_Airport#History).[11] A 2006 timeline of the history of hydroponic growing credited Withrow and her husband with introducing "inert gravel" as a growing medium, and noted that in 1945 the Air Force constructed a hydroponic farm on [Wake Island](/source/Wake_Island) that produced tomatoes, string beans, sweet corn and lettuce.[12] In late 1945 she lectured in Chicago on "soil-less culture and the effect of various spectrum colors on the growth rate of plants."[13] After the war, the Withrows published a paper comparing the use of [mercury](/source/Mercury-vapor_lamp), [incandescent](/source/Incandescent_light_bulb) and the new [fluorescent lamps](/source/Fluorescent_lamp) for growing plants.[14] The Withrows' research was featured in the science magazine *[Popular Mechanics](/source/Popular_Mechanics)* in October 1946.[15]

In 1948 the Withrows relocated to the Smithsonian.[2] In 1956 they co-authored a book chapter on "Generation, control, and measurement of visible and near-visible radiant energy" that was considered an "excellent and thorough review of the problems concerned with lighting."[16]

Withrow wrote the preface to a posthumously published book edited by her husband, *Photoperiodism and related phenomena in plants and animals*.[17] In the 1960s and 1970s, Withrow led the educational materials and instruction development division of the U.S. [National Science Foundation](/source/National_Science_Foundation).[18][19]

Withrow had one child, Anne V. Withrow-Dalager (1934–1996).[2][20][21] Withrow died on April 29, 1998, in Montgomery County, Maryland.[22]

## Selected works

- Withrow, Alice (1945-04-01). ["Interrelationship of nitrogen and photo-period on the flowering, growth, and stem anatomy of certain long day and short day plants"](https://digitalcommons.butler.edu/botanical/vol7/iss1/5) (PDF). *Butler University Botanical Studies*. **7** (1)
- Withrow, Alice P. & Withrow, Robert B. (1947-10-01). "Plant Growth with Artificial Sources of Radiant Energy". *Plant Physiology*. **22** (4): 494–513. [doi:10.1104/pp.22.4.494](https://doi.org/10.1104/pp.22.4.494). [ISSN 0032-0889](https://www.worldcat.org/issn/0032-0889). [PMC 405889](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC405889). [PMID 16654118](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16654118)
- Withrow, Alice P. & Withrow, R.B. (1943). ["Translocation of the Floral Stimulus in Xanthium"](https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1086/335150?journalCode=botanicalgazette). *Botanical Gazette*. **104** (3): 409–416. [doi:10.1086/335150](https://doi.org/10.1086/335150). [JSTOR 2471979](https://www.jstor.org/stable/2471979). [S2CID 84018891](https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:84018891)
- Withrow, Alice P. & Withrow, Robert B. (October 1949). ["Photoperiodic Chlorosis in Tomato"](http://dx.doi.org/10.1104/pp.24.4.657). *Plant Physiology*. **24** (4): 657–663. [doi:10.1104/pp.24.4.657](https://doi.org/10.1104/pp.24.4.657). [ISSN 0032-0889](https://www.worldcat.org/issn/0032-0889). [JSTOR 4258250](https://www.jstor.org/stable/4258250). [PMC 437415](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC437415). [PMID 16654255](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16654255)
- Withrow, R.B. & Withrow, Alice P. (1948). [*Extension Circular: Nutriculture*](https://earchives.lib.purdue.edu/digital/collection/AESCircular/id/8915/rec/1). No. 328. Indiana: Purdue University Agricultural Experiment Station. – via Purdue University Libraries and School of Information Studies E-Archives.
- Withrow, R.B. & Withrow, A.P. (1956). ["Generation, control, and measurement of visible and near-visible radiant energy"](https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/5562799#page/139/mode/1up). *Radiation Biology*. Vol. III: Visible and Near-Visible Light. Hollaender, A. (ed.). New York: McGraw Hill. pp. 125–258. [doi:10.5962/bhl.title.6279](https://doi.org/10.5962/bhl.title.6279). LCCN 53006042. [OCLC 594754626](https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/594754626). – via [Biodiversity Heritage Library](/source/Biodiversity_Heritage_Library)

## References

1. Aoyagi, William Shurtleff; Akiko (2021-07-19). [*History of Soybean Physiology and Botany Research (250 BCE to 2021): Extensively Annotated Bibliography and Sourcebook*](https://books.google.com/books?id=oSE5EAAAQBAJ&q=Alice+Withrow). Soyinfo Center. ISBN 978-1-948436-44-1. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20230424163950/https://books.google.com/books?id=oSE5EAAAQBAJ&q=Alice+Withrow) 2023-04-24 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2023-01-29.

1. ["Scientists Combine Homelife and Career"](https://www.newspapers.com/image/775043952/?clipping_id=120647941). *Wichita Falls Record News*. Associated Press Women's News. 1953-09-08. p. 6. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20230312053929/https://www.newspapers.com/image/775043952/?clipping_id=120647941) 2023-03-12 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2023-03-11. – via [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com)

1. Withrow, Alice P. & Withrow, Robert B. (1947-10-01). ["Plant Growth with Artificial Sources of Radiant Energy"](http://dx.doi.org/10.1104/pp.22.4.494). *Plant Physiology*. **22** (4): 494–513. [doi:10.1104/pp.22.4.494](https://doi.org/10.1104/pp.22.4.494). [ISSN 0032-0889](https://www.worldcat.org/issn/0032-0889). [PMC 405889](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC405889). [PMID 16654118](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16654118). [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20230424163938/https://academic.oup.com/plphys/article/22/4/494/6073595) 2023-04-24 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2023-01-10.

1. Crump, Martha L. & Lannoo, Michael J. (2022). [*Women in Field Biology: A Journey into Nature*](https://books.google.com/books?id=aWZ2EAAAQBAJ&q=Alice+Withrow). Routledge. pp. n.p. [doi:10.1201/9781003311508](https://doi.org/10.1201/9781003311508). ISBN 9780367820350. [S2CID 249944980](https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:249944980). [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20230312000407/https://books.google.com/books?id=aWZ2EAAAQBAJ&q=Alice+Withrow) 2023-03-12 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2023-01-29.

1. [*Who's Who of American Women and Women of Canada*](https://books.google.com/books?id=Aag-AQAAIAAJ). A.N. Marquis Company. 1968. p. 1336.

1. ["Alice Victoria Phillips, 1907"](https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FWJP-FBT). *Kentucky Births and Christenings, 1839–1960*. FamilySearch.org. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20230312050823/https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FWJP-FBT) 2023-03-12 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2023-03-11.

1. Stuckey, Ronald L. (1971). ["E. Lucy Braun (1889–1971): Outstanding Botanist and Conservationist, a Biographical Sketch with Bibliography"](https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/57520289#page/530/mode/1up). *Michigan Botanist*. **12**: 96. Ann Arbor: Michigan Botanical Club. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20230312071001/https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/57520289#page/530/mode/1up) 2023-03-12 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2023-03-12. – via [Biodiversity Heritage Library](/source/Biodiversity_Heritage_Library)

1. Withrow, Alice Phillips (January 1932). ["Life Forms and Leaf Size Classes of Certain Plant Communities of the Cincinnati Region"](http://doi.wiley.com/10.2307/1932488). *Ecology*. **13** (1): 12–35. [Bibcode:1932Ecol...13...12W](https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1932Ecol...13...12W). [doi:10.2307/1932488](https://doi.org/10.2307/1932488). [JSTOR 1932488](https://www.jstor.org/stable/1932488). [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20230424163953/https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.2307/1932488) 2023-04-24 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2023-03-12.

1. ["Graduate Degrees Awarded 1897–1966 in Botany and Plant Pathology"](https://earchives.lib.purdue.edu/digital/collection/ua9/id/59). Purdue University Herbarium. 1966. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20221115022954/https://earchives.lib.purdue.edu/digital/collection/ua9/id/59/) 2022-11-15 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2023-01-10. – via Purdue University Libraries and School of Information Studies E-Archives.

1. Withrow, Alice Phillips (June 1941). [*The Responses of Certain Long and Short Day Plants to Intensity and Wavelength of Radiation and Nitrogen Nutrition*](https://docs.lib.purdue.edu/dissertations/AAI27708504) (Ph.D.). Purdue University. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20230312055156/https://docs.lib.purdue.edu/dissertations/AAI27708504/) 2023-03-12 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2023-03-12.

1. ["Air Corps to Grow Salads in Water"](https://www.newspapers.com/image/334495842/?terms=%22Alice%20P.%20Withrow%22&match=1&clipping_id=120663767). *The Journal Times*. 1945-05-24. p. 6. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20230312051442/https://www.newspapers.com/image/334495842/?terms=%22Alice%20P.%20Withrow%22&match=1&clipping_id=120663767) 2023-03-12 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2023-03-11. – via Newspapers.com.

1. ["Hydroponic Greenhouse"](https://www.newspapers.com/image/183793511/?terms=%22Alice%20P.%20Withrow%22&match=1&clipping_id=120665610). *Courier-Post*. 2006-03-17. p. 70. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20230312053532/https://www.newspapers.com/image/183793511/?terms=%22Alice%20P.%20Withrow%22&match=1&clipping_id=120665610) 2023-03-12 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2023-03-11. – via Newspapers.com.

1. ["Gardeners Get Tips on How to Grow Plants Without Sun or Soil"](https://www.newspapers.com/image/370887683/). *Chicago Tribune*. 1945-11-29. p. 12. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20230312064115/https://www.newspapers.com/image/370887683/) 2023-03-12 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2023-03-12. – via Newspapers.com.

1. Sage, Linda C. (2012-12-02). [*Pigment of the Imagination: A History of Phytochrome Research*](https://books.google.com/books?id=fUhihgURCjsC&pg=PA64). Elsevier. pp. 61–66. ISBN 978-0-323-13854-3. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20230312053532/https://books.google.com/books?id=fUhihgURCjsC&pg=PA64) 2023-03-12 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2023-03-11.

1. Kinsey, John R. (October 1946). ["Throwing Light on Mother Nature"](https://books.google.com/books?id=IuEDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA126). *Popular Mechanics*. Vol. 86, no. 4. Hearst Magazines. pp. 126–128. [ISSN 0032-4558](https://www.worldcat.org/issn/0032-4558). [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20230312001851/https://books.google.com/books?id=IuEDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA126) 2023-03-12 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2023-03-12.

1. Salisbury, Frank B. (1963). [*The Flowering Process*](https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=nnc1.cu50113828&view=1up&seq=118&q1=Withrow). International series of monographs on pure and applied biology. Division, Plant physiology ;v. 4. New York: Macmillan. p. 82. [doi:10.5962/bhl.title.6229](https://doi.org/10.5962/bhl.title.6229). LCCN 63019739. [OCLC 647086017](https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/647086017). [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20230312080410/https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=nnc1.cu50113828&view=1up&seq=118&q1=Withrow) 2023-03-12 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2023-03-12. – via [HathiTrust](/source/HathiTrust)

1. Withrow, Robert B. (ed.) (1959). [*Photoperiodism and related phenomena in plants and animals; proceedings*](http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/bibliography/6282). Washington, D.C.: American Association for the Advancement of Science. pp. v–vi. [doi:10.5962/bhl.title.6282](https://doi.org/10.5962/bhl.title.6282). LCCN 59010144. [OCLC 665164](https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/665164). Publication No. 55. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20230312071941/https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/bibliography/6282) 2023-03-12 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2023-03-12. – via [HathiTrust](/source/HathiTrust)

1. "Ten to Give Science Talk". *Ithaca Cornell Daily Sun*. 1961-05-17. p. 6.

1. [*RANN 2: Realizing Knowledge as a Resource : Proceedings of the Second Symposium on Research Applied to National Needs, Washington Hilton, Washington, D.C., November 7–9, 1976*](https://books.google.com/books?id=Lxt5PLo-LBwC&pg=PA106). National Science Foundation. 1977. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20230312053533/https://books.google.com/books?id=Lxt5PLo-LBwC&pg=PA106) 2023-03-12 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2023-03-12.

1. ["Dr. Robert B. Withrow, 54, Noted Expert on Plant Life"](https://www.newspapers.com/image/869784007/?terms=%22Alice%20Withrow%22%20botanist&match=1&article=7c5faace-1606-44ff-86da-eec41444764a). *Evening Star*. 1958-04-09. p. 40. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20230312053535/https://www.newspapers.com/image/869784007/?terms=%22Alice%20Withrow%22%20botanist&match=1&article=7c5faace-1606-44ff-86da-eec41444764a) 2023-03-12 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2023-03-11. – via Newspapers.com.

1. ["ANNE WITHROW-DALAGER Real Estate Agent"](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/1996/11/20/daniel-snyder-dies-at-age-55/cd89ef52-edf0-475d-b9ee-9a75fab1e90c/). *The Washington Post*. 1996-11-20. pp. B4. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20170828212526/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/1996/11/20/daniel-snyder-dies-at-age-55/cd89ef52-edf0-475d-b9ee-9a75fab1e90c/) 2017-08-28 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2023-03-11.

1. ["Alice P Withrow, 28 Apr 1998"](https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:JB7P-NZ6). *United States Social Security Death Index database, citing U.S. Social Security Administration, Death Master File*. FamilySearch.org. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20230312053533/https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:JB7P-NZ6) 2023-03-12 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2023-03-12.

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Alice Withrow](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alice_Withrow) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alice_Withrow?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.