Constance Endicott Hartt

Constance Endicott Hartt (1900 to 1984) was a U.S. botanist notable for her research on sugarcane, born in Passaic, New Jersey. She graduated from Mount Holyoke College in 1922, taught at St. Lawrence University and Connecticut College, and worked as a botanist for the Hawaiian Sugar Planters' Association, dying in Hawaii at the age of 84. The goal of her research was to learn how the sugarcane plant makes and stores sugar, and her findings showed that the more efficient the photosynthesis, the greater the sugar output of the plant. Using radioactive isotopes to trace the carbon dioxide in the cane until it was transformed into sugar, she worked out the best ratio of sunlight and temperature to sugar, and she was one of the first scientists to use this method. Her work helped the sugar industry in Hawaii by assisting farmers to grow sugarcane efficiently and so contributed to the Hawaiian economy.