Frits Warmolt Went

1903 - 1990

Frits Warmolt Went (1903–1990): The Architect of Plant Physiology

Frits Warmolt Went was a Dutch-American botanist whose pioneering research transformed our understanding of how plants grow, communicate, and interact with their environment. Best known for discovering auxin, the first identified plant hormone, Went’s career spanned the transition from classical botany to modern molecular plant biology. His development of the "Phytotron" revolutionized experimental agriculture, and his later work on air pollution provided the first chemical explanation for urban smog.

1. Biography: From Utrecht to the Desert

Frits Went was born on May 18, 1903, in Utrecht, Netherlands, into a family of academic distinction. His father, Friedrich August Ferdinand Christian (F.A.F.C.) Went, was a titan of Dutch botany and a professor at the University of Utrecht. Growing up in the university’s botanical gardens, Frits was immersed in plant science from childhood.

Education and Early Career:

Utrecht University: Went studied under his father, completing his PhD in 1927. His doctoral thesis, Wuchsstoff und Wachstum (Growth Substance and Growth), became a foundational text in plant physiology.
The Dutch East Indies (1927–1933): After his PhD, Went moved to Java (then a Dutch colony) to work at the Buitenzorg Botanical Gardens. There, he focused on tropical plant physiology and the ecology of epiphytes.
Caltech (1933–1958): In 1933, the legendary geneticist Thomas Hunt Morgan recruited Went to the California Institute of Technology. It was here that Went spent his most productive years as a Professor of Plant Physiology.
Missouri and Nevada (1958–1990): In 1958, he became the Director of the Missouri Botanical Garden, where he oversaw the construction of the Climatron. In 1964, he moved to the University of Nevada, Reno, to lead the Desert Research Institute, focusing on desert ecology until his retirement.

Went passed away on May 1, 1990, in Little Glass Mountain, California, while on a field trip—a fitting end for a man dedicated to the study of nature.

2. Major Contributions

Discovery of Auxin and the Avena Test

Went’s most significant contribution was the isolation of auxin, the hormone responsible for cell elongation and phototropism (the tendency of plants to grow toward light). Building on Charles Darwin’s early observations, Went developed the Avena (oat) curvature test.

The Experiment: He placed the cut tips of oat seedlings on blocks of agar, allowing the "growth substance" to diffuse into the jelly. When these agar blocks were placed asymmetrically on decapitated seedlings, the plants curved away from the block.
Impact: This proved that growth was controlled by a chemical substance (later identified as indole-3-acetic acid) rather than electrical signals or "vital forces."

The Phytotron and Controlled Environments

In 1949, Went designed and opened the Earhart Plant Research Laboratory at Caltech, the world’s first "Phytotron." This facility allowed researchers to control every environmental variable—temperature, humidity, light intensity, and gas composition—simultaneously. This methodology moved botany from the unpredictable field into the realm of rigorous, reproducible physics and chemistry.

Atmospheric Science and Smog

Living in Los Angeles in the 1940s, Went became fascinated by the "smog" choking the city. Collaborating with biochemist Arie Jan Haagen-Smit, Went identified that the haze was not just smoke and fog, but a photochemical reaction between nitrogen oxides and hydrocarbons from automobile exhaust.

Desert Ecology

Went pioneered research into how desert plants "know" when to germinate. He discovered that seeds contain chemical inhibitors that must be washed away by a specific amount of rainfall (e.g., exactly half an inch) to ensure the plant has enough water to complete its life cycle.

3. Notable Publications

Wuchsstoff und Wachstum (1927): His PhD dissertation, which provided the first quantitative evidence for plant growth hormones.
Phytohormones (1937): Co-authored with Kenneth Thimann, this book served as the definitive textbook for the first generation of plant hormone researchers.
The Experimental Control of Plant Growth (1957): A comprehensive summary of his work with the Phytotron and the environmental factors affecting plant development.
The Plants (1963): Part of the Life Nature Library, this book brought the complexities of plant biology to a broad, general audience.

4. Awards & Recognition

National Academy of Sciences: Elected as a member in 1947.
Stephen Hales Prize (1947): Awarded by the American Society of Plant Physiologists.
The Hodgkins Award (1959): For his contributions to atmospheric science and air pollution research.
Knight in the Order of Oranje-Nassau: A prestigious Dutch civil and military honor.
Honorary Degrees: Received doctorates from the Sorbonne (Paris), Rutgers, and the University of Utrecht.

5. Impact & Legacy

Frits Went changed botany from a descriptive science (naming and classifying) into an experimental science.

Hormone Research: Every modern agricultural practice involving plant growth regulators—from weed killers (like 2,4-D) to rooting powders for cuttings—traces its lineage back to Went’s auxin research.
Climate Change & Agriculture: The Phytotron concept is the ancestor of modern climate-controlled greenhouses and vertical farming systems used to study crop resilience in the face of global warming.
The "Went-Cholodny Theory": This theory (developed independently by Went and Nikolai Cholodny) remains the standard explanation for how gravity and light influence plant growth through the unequal distribution of auxin.

6. Collaborations

F.A.F.C. Went: His father was his first mentor and frequent sounding board for the early hormone theories.
Kenneth Thimann: Together, they characterized the chemical structure of auxin, bridging the gap between physiology and chemistry.
Arie Jan Haagen-Smit: Their partnership at Caltech was crucial in identifying the causes of smog, leading to the first air quality regulations in California.
The "Caltech Group": Went worked alongside giants like George Beadle and Max Delbrück, contributing to an era where Caltech was the epicenter of biological innovation.

7. Lesser-Known Facts

The "Blue Haze" Theory: Went was obsessed with the blue haze seen over the Smoky Mountains and other forests. He correctly hypothesized that this was caused by terpenes (volatile organic compounds) emitted by trees, which then reacted with ozone—essentially, nature’s own version of smog.
Resistance to Molecular Biology: Despite his innovations, Went was famously skeptical of the mid-century shift toward molecular genetics. He believed that studying a plant's DNA in a test tube was
"botany without the plant,"
insisting that the whole organism and its environment were the only valid units of study.
The Climatron: While Director of the Missouri Botanical Garden, he helped design the Climatron, the world’s first geodesic dome greenhouse, based on R. Buckminster Fuller's designs. It remains an architectural and botanical landmark today.