Animal physiologist Ari van Tienhoven dies at 91

Ari van Tienhoven
van Tienhoven

Ari van Tienhoven, emeritus professor of animal physiology in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, died Jan. 31. He was 91.

Born April 22, 1922, in The Hague, Netherlands, van Tienhoven came to the United States in 1947, joined the poultry and avian sciences faculty in 1955 and became a U.S. citizen in 1959.

An internationally recognized authority on animal physiology and particularly animal reproduction, van Tienhoven compiled with others an extensive revision of Sydney A. Asdell’s widely used reference, “Patterns of Mammalian Reproduction.”

In 1970 he aroused controversy by advocating that humans limit their reproduction to forestall overpopulation. He taught an “AIDS and Society” class from 1989 to 1992.

Librarians remember him as an avid user of Mann Library, coming in every morning of the work week to read the paper and current journals and do research. He donated extensively to the library. He established in the name of his wife the Ans van Tienhoven Award, a $1,000 stipend presented annually to a Mann librarian for travel and professional development, as well as other endowments in her name.

His wife predeceased him in 2005. They had three children and several grandchildren.

Services will be private. In lieu of flowers, donations to the van Tienhoven travel fund can be sent to Cornell Library, Alumni Affairs and Development, 130 E. Seneca St., Ithaca, NY 14850.Donors should indicate the Ans van Tienhoven Endowment Fund at Mann Library.

Media Contact

John Carberry