Lowell Fitz Randolph

Lowell Fitz Randolph
Botanist Lowell Fitz Randolph and Fannie (his wife) in the 1920s
Born	7 October 1894 Alfred, Allegany County, New York State
Died	28 May 1980 Ithaca, Tompkins County, New York State
Residence	Ithaca
Nationality	American
Citizenship	American
Alma mater	Alfred University Cornell University
Known for	genetics of plants, (Chromosomes)
Awards	Vaughn Award for outstanding contributions to horticulture from the American Society for Horticultural Science (1944), Distinguished Service Medal from the American Iris Society (1951), Sir Michael Foster Plaque of the British Iris Society (1955), a citation for distinguished contributions to horticulture from the American Horticultural Society (1962), Bronze medal from the Internationale Gartenbauaustellung show, Hamburg, West Germany (1963), Gold medal from the American Iris Society in 1970.
Scientific career
Fields	Botany
Institutions	Office of Cereal Investigations, United States Department of Agriculture
Academic advisors	Rollins A. Emerson and Prof. L. W. Sharp
Notable students
Author abbrev. (botany)	Randolph

Lowell Fitz Randolph (7 October 1894 - 28 May 1980) was an American scientist, in the field of genetics, botany and horticulture. He was a Cornell University graduate who became Professor of Botany and was also employed as an associate Cytologist for the United States Department of Agriculture. He was also an avid iris collector and wrote a book on the Iris genus. He carried out important research into plant chromosomes of iris, orchid genus and corn plants (such as Maize). He was sometimes known as "Fitz" by his many friends and associates.

Lowell Fitz Randolph, was born on 7 October 1894 in Alfred, Allegany County, New York State.

He was the son of farmer Alva Fitz Randolph (1867 – 1949), and Mary Caroline (Hoff) Fitz Randolph (1863 - 1944). His father was a leading farmer in the Alfred area, having earned a B.S. with honors from Alfred University in 1893 and being instrumental in establishing the Allegany County Farm Bureau, of which he served as director for many years. Lowell was also the brother of Fucia Fitz Randolph (1889 – 1971), Rev. Elizabeth Fitz Randolph (1890-1983)), Florence (Fitz Randolph) Lee (1899 – 1927), and Vida (Fitz Randolph) Barrs (1903 - 1973). It is interesting to note that Lowell's family had over 200 years of history of being deeply involved in the Seventh Day Baptist Church community, and that Lowell and his sister Vida were the first to break with that community and strong tradition and follow independent, secular paths pursuing their passion for science. Lowell was educated at local schools in Alfred and graduated from Alfred University in 1916.

In 1918, he then went to Cornell University to complete his Ph.D and work as an assistant in botany under Rollins A. Emerson and Prof. L. W. Sharp. His thesis was on the development of normal and abnormal chloroplasts in maize, which was completed under Prof. Sharp’s direction in 1921. He then studied cytology with Lester in the Botany Department and minored in Plant Breeding with Emerson.

In 1920, he attend the meetings of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Chicago, and presented a paper to the American Naturalist Division on 'A case of maternal inheritance in Maize: Cytological Relations'. He is a member of the Association and of the Botanical Society of America.