Garland E. Allen

Garland Edward Allen III (February 13, 1936 – February 10, 2023) was an American historian and biographer at Washington University in St. Louis. His research interests lie primarily in the history of genetics, eugenics and evolution.

Garland E. Allen
Born
Garland Edward Allen III

(1936-02-13)February 13, 1936
Louisville, Kentucky, U.S.
DiedFebruary 10, 2023(2023-02-10) (aged 86)
NationalityAmerican
EducationUniversity of Louisville
Harvard University
Known forWritings on the life of Thomas Hunt Morgan
Work on the history of eugenics
Awards2017 George Sarton Medal from the History of Science Society
Scientific career
FieldsHistory of science
Philosophy of science
InstitutionsWashington University in St. Louis
ThesisThomas Hunt Morgan: The Relation of Genetic and Evolution Theory, 1900-1925 (1966)
Doctoral advisorsErnst Mayr
Everett Mendelsohn

Life

Garland Edward Allen III was born on February 13, 1936, in Louisville, Kentucky.[1] He graduated from the University of Louisville in 1957. He completed his PhD in the history of science at Harvard University in 1966 under the direction of Ernst Mayr and Everett Mendelsohn after spending a few years as a high school biology teacher.[2] He taught at Washington University and held several visiting professorships at Harvard.

Allen died on February 10, 2023, at the age of 86.[3]

Thomas Hunt Morgan

Allen offered the fullest treatment of the life and work of Thomas Hunt Morgan, himself a Kentucky native. Allen's extensive review of Morgan presented the story of an experimentalist who staunchly avoided open political ties to science for fear of biasing the research. His discussion of the fly room, first at Columbia, then at Caltech, suggests that the collaborative environment within which Morgan worked with his students, H.J. Muller, Alfred Sturtevant, Calvin Bridges, and Theodosius Dobzhansky played an important role in establishing Drosophila melanogaster as a model organism for genetics, and launching the careers of these titans of 20th century genetics.[4] Allen's work contributes to the body of history chronicling the emergence of American science.

Eugenics

Allen was an international leader on the history of eugenics.[5] His work suggests that eugenics movements were not merely localized to Germany, Britain and America, but rather that eugenics constituted an international ideological shift from social Darwinism, whereby nature would weed out people with poor heredity, to an ideology where humanity must control its own genetic stock.[6] He suggested that with the unveiling of the human genome, we should be cautious of a new wave of the eugenics movement.[7]

Works
  • Matter, Energy, and Life (4 Editions)
  • Life Sciences in the 20th Century (1975)
  • Thomas Hunt Morgan: The Man and his Science (1978)
  • Biology: Scientific Process and Social Issues (2002)

Accolades

References
  1. "Who's Who Missouri" (PDF). Washington University in St.Louis. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-04-05. Retrieved 2018-09-18.
  2. MacLeod, Roy M. (2002). Science, history, and social activism: a tribute to Everett Mendelsohn. Springer. p. 416. ISBN 9048159687.
  3. "Obituary: Garland Allen, professor emeritus of biology, 86". Washington University in St. Louis. 24 February 2023. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
  4. Coleman, William (Dec 1979). "Reviewed Work: Thomas Hunt Morgan: The Man and His Science by Garland E. Allen". The American Historical Review. 84 (5): 1494. doi:10.2307/1861696. JSTOR 1861696.
  5. Fitzpatrick, Tony (May 4, 2004). "Social problems such as obesity can't be solved through genetics alone, warns biologist". Washington University in St. Louis. Retrieved February 3, 2017.
  6. Allen, Garland (2002). "Eugenics as an International Movement". International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences: 4882–4889. doi:10.1016/B0-08-043076-7/03396-9. ISBN 9780080430768.
  7. Allen, Garland (October 2001). "Is a New Eugenics Afoot?". Science. 294 (5540): 59–71. doi:10.1126/science.1066325. PMID 11588239.
  8. "AAAS - Sections - History and Philosophy of Science (Section L)". Archived from the original on 2012-07-02. Retrieved 2012-04-04.
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