Carroll Williams

Carroll Milton Williams (December 2, 1916 in Oregon Hill, Virginia — October 11, 1991 in Watertown, Massachusetts) was an American zoologist known for his work in entomology and developmental biology—in particular, metamorphosis in insects,[3] for which he won the George Ledlie Prize. He performed groundbreaking surgical experiments on larvae and pupae,[4] and developed multiple new techniques, including the use of carbon dioxide as an anesthetic.[5] His impact on entomology has been compared to that of Vincent Wigglesworth.[6][7]

For the American player of gridiron football, see Carroll Williams (Canadian football).
Carroll Williams
Carroll Williams in 1956
Born
Carroll Milton Williams

(1916-12-02)December 2, 1916
Oregon Hill
DiedOctober 11, 1991(1991-10-11) (aged 74)
Watertown, Massachusetts
Alma materUniversity of Richmond
Harvard University[1]
AwardsGeorge Ledlie Prize 1952 Newcomb Cleveland Prize
Scientific career
FieldsZoology
InstitutionsHarvard University
ThesisA morphological and physiological analysis of the flight of Drosophila, with special reference to the factors controlling the frequency of wingbeat. (1941)
Doctoral advisorCharles Brues
Doctoral studentsFotis Kafatos[2]

Education

Williams was educated at the University of Richmond and Harvard University, where he was awarded a PhD in Zoology in 1941.[8] Elected to the Harvard Society of Fellows, he also earned an MD summa cum laude.[9]

Career and research

For his thesis he studied the wingbeat frequency of Drosophila, using a stroboscopic device which he designed with the advice of Harold Edgerton.[9]

In 1942 Carroll Williams began a series of experiments that led to the solution of the mystery of metamorphosis. In the most famous one, he cut a pupa in half and connected the 2 half with a small tube, to study the effect of the lesions on the metamorphosis.[10]

Next he studied the endocrine control of the development of the giant American silkworm Hyalophora cecropia, introducing carbon dioxide as a surgical anesthetic. He showed that a hormone from the brain activated the prothoracic glands to release the moulting hormone ecdysone. When the juvenile hormone is present also, larvae moult to another larval stage. Juvenile hormone is not present during the larval-to-pupal or the pupal-to-adult moults. The pupae enter diapause which is broken when the brain has been chilled for weeks, after which it releases the brain hormone. Williams was the first to isolate juvenile hormone and ecdysone. With his students he studied cocoon-spinning behavior and the profound metabolic shutdown during diapause, and was the first to discover and isolate cocoonase and cytochrome b5,[11] as well as the "paper factor".[12] He subsequently proposed that hormonal analogues could be used as pesticides by disrupting the developmental cycles of insects.[13][14]

Williams was the chairman of the biology department at Harvard University from 1959 to 1962, and the Benjamin Bussey Professor of Biology from 1966 until his retirement in 1987.[1] He was a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and was elected to the National Academy of Sciences, where he was a member of the Academy's council for two terms and chairman of biological sciences for one. He was also a member of the Institute of Medicine, the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, and the American Philosophical Society.

References
  1. Telfer, William H. (August 20, 1992). "OBITUARY: Carroll Milton Williams (1916-1991)" (PDF). Journal of the Lepidopterists' Society. 46 (2): 169–171. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 7, 2011.
  2. Kafatos, Fotis (1965). The escape of moths from the cocoon: biochemical, physiological, morphological, and developmental studies. harvard.edu (PhD thesis). Harvard University. OCLC 16689507.
  3. "Carroll Williams: experiments on the metamorphosis of butterflies".
  4. "Deaths elsewhere: Carroll M. Williams, 74, a Harvard University biologist". The Baltimore Sun. October 20, 1991. Retrieved November 16, 2011.
  5. Kendall, Don (October 15, 1989). "Entomologists Hope Attention Will Plant Bug in Decision Makers' Ears". Los Angeles Times. Associated Press. Retrieved November 16, 2011.
  6. Kafatos, F. C.; Wilson, E. O.; Branton, Daniel (March 1997). "Carroll Milton Williams (2 December 1916 - 11 October 1991)". Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society. 141 (1): 116–121. JSTOR 987257.
  7. Anon (2004). "Williams, Carroll Milton". Encyclopedia of Entomology. Encyclopedia of Entomology. p. 2556. doi:10.1007/0-306-48380-7_4592. ISBN 978-0-7923-8670-4.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  8. Williams, Carroll Milton (1941). A morphological and physiological analysis of the flight of Drosophila, with special reference to the factors controlling the frequency of wingbeat. harvard.edu (PhD thesis). Harvard University. OCLC 28196048.
  9. Pappenheimer, A. M., Jr (1995). "Carroll Milton Williams 1916—1991" (PDF). Biographical Memoirs of the National Academy of Sciences: 413–23.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  10. DrWatson (2021-05-14). "Carroll Williams: experiments on the metamorphosis of butterflies". Neperos. Retrieved 2022-11-28.
  11. "Memorial Minutes on Carroll Williams (FAS) and Aaron Gissen (HMS) and Louis Zetzel (HMS)". Harvard Gazette. March 21, 1996. Archived from the original on June 4, 2011. Retrieved November 16, 2011.
  12. Joseph, Rebecca J. (March 10, 1982). "A Giant Among Bugs: Professor Williams' Entomological Legacy". Harvard Crimson. Retrieved November 16, 2011.
  13. "Third-Generation Pesticides". Harvard Crimson. March 11, 1970. Retrieved November 16, 2011.
  14. Henrick, C. A. (2007). "Methoprene". Journal of the American Mosquito Control Association. 23 (2 Suppl): 225–239. doi:10.2987/8756-971X(2007)23[225:M]2.0.CO;2. PMID 17853608.
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