Edward Bartow was born in Glenham, New York, on January 12, 1870. He graduated from Williams College in Massachusetts in 1892, and took his Ph.D. in 1895 from the University of Göttingen, Germany. Upon returning to the United States, he married Alice Abbott on September 3, 1895. Dr. Bartow first taught at Williams College, then at the University of Kansas from 1897 to 1905, followed by the University of Illinois 1905 to 1920. He served in the American Expeditionary Forces in France during World War I, providing sanitary drinking water and waste treatment for troops.

At the University of Iowa, Dr. Bartow was head of the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering from 1920 to 1940. The work he accomplished during World War I led to his area of research at Iowa -- the chemical treatment of water while protecting the environment. Edward Bartow died April 12, 1958.