Gabrielle Howard

Gabrielle Matthaei attended South Hampstead High School and North London Collegiate School for Girls and studied at Newnham College, Cambridge University natural sciences. As assistant to Frederick Blackman had a major role in the discovery of important basics of photosynthesis reactions. 1910 she married the botanist and farmer Albert Howard and was his assistant at the research in India.

Frost and Matthaei have made fundamental discoveries about photosynthesis and these 1905 published jointly. They cultivated plants ( cherry laurel and jerusalem artichoke), and varied the concentration of carbon dioxide ( CO2), the light intensity and temperature. Was then measured the effects of these parameters on the rate of photosynthesis. They were able to determine that under conditions of high light and low CO2 concentration, the photosynthetic rate was temperature dependent and concluded that the recovery or fixation of CO2 based on normal biochemical reactions that are temperature dependent. At an excess of CO2 and low amount of light, however, no influence of the temperature was found. They concluded that reactions induced by light, do not depend on the temperature, a fact that the following applies for photochemical reactions.

Publications

• Howard A. and GLC Howard ( 1910): Studies in Indian fiber plants. No. 1 Hibiscus cannabinus L. Mem Dept. Agr. India bot Ser. 4
• Howard, A. and GLC Howard ( 1917): The economic Significance of the root development of agricultural crops. Agr. Jour. India, Indian Sci. Congr. Number.
• Howard, A. and GLC Howard ( 1920): Some aspects of the indigo industry in Bihar. Dept meme. Agr. India, 11:1-36.