William Bradford Alwood was born August 11, 1859 in Delta, Ohio. He attended Ohio State University and George Washington University. He also received training at the Royal Pomology School in Germany, and the Pasteur Institute in France. Alwood served as the Vice-Director of the Virginia Agricultural Experiment Station from 1888 to 1904. During this time he served as Professor of Horticulture, Entomology, and Mycology at the Virginia Polytechnic Institute.
After leaving VPI in 1904, Alwood moved to Charlottesville where he established an enological laboratory which was later incorporated into the USDA Bureau of Chemistry; he was named Chief of Enological Investigations. He continued his relationship with VPI by donating several books and papers to the library and kept in touch with old colleagues. He was awarded a certificate of merit by VPI in 1923. Alwood died April 13, 1946.
From the guide to the William Bradford Alwood Collection, 1854-1927, (Special Collections, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, Va.)
