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Draft:Muriel Howorth

  • Comment: Please change the referencing to inline citations - you can ask at The Teahouse if you're not sure how to do this. MurielMary (talk) 11:05, 14 May 2023 (UTC)
  • Comment: Please use inline citations, as this associates statements with sources, making verification and review far easier. Greenman (talk) 21:00, 4 April 2023 (UTC)
  • Comment: Looks to be notable, could use in-line citations. SamHolt6 (talk) 15:06, 6 March 2023 (UTC)

Muriel Howorth (born 1887-1971) was the English founder of the Atomic Gardening Society, author, and atomic gardening advocate.

Biography edit

She grew up in Bishop Auckland, County Durham and graduated from the Royal Academy of Music before turning to work in the film industry. It was here that she invented an early picture and film recording device called a Talkiefone, and founded and led the Women's International Film Association.

During the Second World War, Howorth lived in Eastbourne and employed with the Ministry of Information as well as the Royal Aircraft Establishment. She reported in her personal records receiving a letter in 1948 inquiring after her interest in atomic energy. Howorth then proceeded to check out Frederick Soddy's The Interpretation of Radium and found herself a believer in atomic energy. Howorth began to explore and advocate for the use of atomic energy within the home.

One notable moment in Howorth's atomic exploration was in 1959, where she served irradiated North Carolina peanuts to multiple members of the scientific community. However, they were unimpressed with the unusually large peanuts. Howorth viewed these mutated nuts as an achievement towards feeding the undernourished with atomic energy. Howorth then planted the remaining peanuts in her garden, where they grew quicker and larger than regular standards. The attention gained by the nuts motivated Muriel to self-publish her book Atomic Gardening and founded the Atomic Gardening Society to advocate for her cause of atomic power in the home, one of the most notable members being Albert Einstein. Despite the massive spike in interest in atomic gardening, enthusiasm dwindled as the mutations were difficult to produce and generally undesirable. While Howorth's outlook on atomic gardening was unique, the idea of atomic gardening was not a new idea to the scientific community. While the possibilities of atomic gardening were explored by multiple different organizations, it was generally accepted to have little use. This, along with Howorth's dwindling health led to a decline of interest in atomic gardening and the Atomic Gardening Society remained generally inactive.

Howorth also spent time as a science fiction writer, exploring the generally speculative, and therefore fictional, possibilities of atomic power. One of her more notable novels being Atom and Eve in 1955, which was aimed towards women and encouraged them to venture into the world of atomic power. Howorth's other works varied within the same theme of futuristic infrastructure and scientific advancement and their uses in the home.

Across all fields of work, Howorth consistently encouraged women to make a space for themselves within male dominated fields. While her work might not have made a large impact scientifically, her related female activism did.

one source[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8]

extended article here[9][10][11][12][13]

Selected publication edit

  • Howorth, Muriel (1960-01-01). Atomic gardening (First ed.). New World Pub.[14]
 
Howorth shows popular garden writer Beverly Nichols a two-foot-high peanut plant grown from an irradiated nut planted in her own backyard.

References edit

  1. ^ Johnson, Paige (2012). "Safeguarding the atom: the nuclear enthusiasm of Muriel Howorth". The British Journal for the History of Science. 45 (4): 551–571. doi:10.1017/S0007087412001057. ISSN 0007-0874. S2CID 144124503.
  2. ^ "London Letter". The Birmingham Post. 1960-01-27. p. 6. Retrieved 2024-05-05.
  3. ^ "Eldon's gossip". Evening Chronicle. 1960-02-06. p. 6. Retrieved 2024-05-05.
  4. ^ "Article clipped from The Philadelphia Inquirer". The Philadelphia Inquirer. 1960-10-02. p. 64. Retrieved 2024-05-05.
  5. ^ "Atomic peanuts". The Daily Telegraph. 1959-10-20. p. 10. Retrieved 2024-05-05.
  6. ^ "Atom and Eve". The Sydney Morning Herald. 1955-09-25. p. 91. Retrieved 2024-05-05.
  7. ^ "Tell facts about atom & eve". Evening Post. 1955-07-12. p. 34. Retrieved 2024-05-05.
  8. ^ "Atom Knowledge For Laymen". Evening Sentinel. 1955-10-25. p. 4. Retrieved 2024-05-05.
  9. ^ "Atom and Eve". Evening Standard. 1955-09-03. p. 11. Retrieved 2024-05-05.
  10. ^ Sparrow's Nest Document: 3306.
  11. ^ Bramwell, David (2017). The odditorium : the tricksters, eccentrics, deviants and inventors whose obsessions changed the world. Internet Archive. [S.l.] : CHAMBERS. pp. 136–139. ISBN 978-1-4736-4149-5.
  12. ^ Fortean Times 2022.
  13. ^ "Foreign News: The Explosion and All". Time. 1950-10-30. ISSN 0040-781X. Retrieved 2024-05-05.
  14. ^ Reviews of Atomic Gardening


[1] [2] [3] [4]



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  1. ^ MacVeigh, M (July 2018). "Muriel Howorth and the Atomic Gardening Society: Writing Food Futures". Seeds: Proceedings of the Oxford Symposium on Food and Cookery. 1918 (3): 187. doi:10.1108/00070700510586506. ISSN 0007-070X. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
  2. ^ Johnson, Paige (December 2012). "Safeguarding the atom: the nuclear enthusiasm of Muriel Howorth". The British Journal for the History of Science. 45 (4): 551–571. doi:10.1017/S0007087412001057. ISSN 0007-0874. S2CID 144124503. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
  3. ^ Johnson, Paige. "Atoms for Women: the Atomic Enthusiasms of Muriel Howorth". Atomic Gardens: An Online History. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
  4. ^ Tegan (23 September 2020). "Muriel Howorth and the Atomic Garden – Plants and Pipettes". Plants and Pipette. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
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