Irene Baker

Irene Baker (née Williams, 1918 – November 6, 1989) was an American botanist who collaborated with her husband Herbert G. Baker to research pollination biology, the composition of nectar and study its ecological, evolutionary and taxonomic qualities.

Early life and education Baker was born in the United Kingdom in 1918. She completed a Bachelor of Science degree at the University of Wales in Cardiff where she studied zoology and mathematics. In 1954 Herbert joined the faculty of the University College of Ghana and Baker accompanied him to Ghana. While in Ghana, Baker researched the tsetse fly. She invented novel ambrosiological techniques necessary to obtain the required data. Baker went on to publish methodological papers on some of these techniques and contributed to compendia of practical pollination biology.

Selected publications

Death Baker died on November 6, 1989.