Hans Kende was born in Hungary in 1937 and received his PhD in 1960 from the University of Zurich. After a post-doc at Cal Tech, he was one of the original faculty members of the Plant Research Laboratory, hired in 1965 by Anton Lang, the founding director of the PRL. He served on the faculty of the PRL and the Department of Plant Biology until his retirement in 2005. Kende was recognized worldwide for his contribution to the understanding of plant hormone biosynthesis and the action of plant hormones in controlling plant growth and development, as evidenced by numerous honors bestowed over the years including election to the German Academy of Natural Sciences in 1985 and the U.S. National Academy of Sciences in 1992. Along with his research success, Kende was an excellent teacher and mentor for students and postdoctoral research associates and was particularly known for helping and promoting others. He died in 2006.
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