John D. Axtell
John David Axtell (February 5, 1934 – December 2, 2000) was an American geneticist, Lynn Distinguished Professor of Agronomy, member of the National Academy of Sciences. Axtell received the Alexander von Humboldt Award in 1975, the Crop Science Research Award from the Crop Science Society of America in 1976, and the International Award for Distinguished Service to Agriculture in 1984. Axtell was widely noted for his research on sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L.). The New York Times and other sources reported that Axtell had been one of discoverers of high-lysine sorghum, and that the discovery was crucial to the fight against world hunger. Career and life 
Axtell was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on February 5, 1934. He received his B.S. degree in agronomy and plant genetics in 1957 from the University of Minnesota, M.S. degree in plant genetics in 1965, and Ph.D. degree in plant genetics in 1967, the last from University of Wisconsin–Madison. Axtell spent his entire academic career 34 years at Purdue University, starting in 1967 right after completing requirements for his Ph.D. degree. He became a full professor in 1975, and Lynn Distinguished Professor of Agronomy in 1982. References

External links
Arnel R. Hallauer, "John David Axtell", Biographical Memoirs of the National Academy of Sciences (2002)

1934 births
2000 deaths
20th-century American biochemists
Scientists from Minneapolis
Purdue University faculty
University of Wisconsin–Madison College of Agricultural and Life Sciences alumni
University of Minnesota College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences alumni
Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences
Sorghum