Charles Haskell Danforth (30 November 1883 – 10 January 1969) was an American anatomist and professor at Stanford University. He took a special interest in problems of heredity and comparative anatomy.

Danforth was born in Oxford, Maine to James and Mary Haskell. He had an early interest in botany growing up in Norway, Maine. An uncle, Frank Danforth passed on a copy of Darwin's Animals and Plants under Domestication to him at the age of twelve. His observation on dimorphism in Tiarella cordifolia made around the age of twelve was published in 1911. His father's friends included the brother of Professor Sidney I. Smith and the brother-in-law of Professor A.E. Verrill. When he wrote to Professor Verrill seeking advice about becoming a naturalist, he received the response that he should not "unless you can't help it." Educated at Norway Liberal Institute, he went to Tufts College earning a BA in 1908 and an MA in 1910. He then moved to Washington University in St. Louis where he received a PhD in 1912 for his work on the comparative anatomy of Polyodon. After serving as an instructor in anatomy until 1914, he became an associate at Washington University in St. Louis in 1914, becoming associate professor in 1916. In the summer of 1917 he taught ornithology at the University of Montana lab on Flathead Lake. He joined Stanford University in 1921 under A.W. Meyer and became a full professor in 1923, serving there until his retirement in 1949.[1]

Danforth published nearly 125 papers, many influenced by naturalistic observation. Sitting in a theatre, Danforth noticed the hairy hands of a person seated in front of him and after comparing his own hair distribution took up a study of hair growth patterning on the back of the hands and fingers.[2][3] He also examined hair in greater detail.[4][5] He also examined heredity using breeding experiments in rats, chickens, pheasants, and cats.[6][7] At the end of World War II, Danforth examined the morphometrics of 104 thousand soldiers discharged from the American army, which has been used to compare physical stature changes over time.

Danforth was elected to the United States National Academy of Sciences in 1942 and the American Philosophical Society in 1944.[8][9]

He married science teacher Florence Wenonah Garrison in 1914 and they had three sons.[1]

References

  1. 1 2 Willier, Benjamin H. (1974). "Charles Haskell Danforth". National Academy of Sciences Biographical Memoirs. 44: 1–56. PMID 11615640.
  2. ↑ Danforth, C. H.; Trotter, Mildred (1922). "The distribution of body hair in white subjects". American Journal of Physical Anthropology. 5 (3): 259–265. doi:10.1002/ajpa.1330050318. ISSN 0002-9483. Archived from the original on 2021-10-04. Retrieved 2021-10-04.
  3. ↑ Danforth, Charles Haskell (1921). "Distribution of hair on the digits in man". American Journal of Physical Anthropology. 4 (2): 189–204. doi:10.1002/ajpa.1330040206.
  4. ↑ Danforth, C. H. (1939). "Physiology of human hair". Physiological Reviews. 19 (1): 94–111. doi:10.1152/physrev.1939.19.1.94. ISSN 0031-9333.
  5. ↑ Danforth, C. H. (1925). "Studies on hair: with special reference to hypertrichosis". Archives of Dermatology and Syphilology. 12 (2): 195. doi:10.1001/archderm.1925.02370080039004. ISSN 0096-6029. Archived from the original on 2022-08-18. Retrieved 2021-10-04.
  6. ↑ Danforth, C. H. (1937). "Artificial gynandromorphism and plumage in Phasianus". Journal of Genetics. 34 (3): 497–506. doi:10.1007/BF02982310. ISSN 0022-1333. S2CID 44439029.
  7. ↑ Danforth, C. H. (1947). "Heredity of polydactyly in the cat". Journal of Heredity. 38 (4): 107–112. doi:10.1093/oxfordjournals.jhered.a105701. ISSN 1465-7333. PMID 20242531.
  8. ↑ "Charles Danforth". www.nasonline.org. Retrieved 2023-04-03.
  9. ↑ "APS Member History". search.amphilsoc.org. Retrieved 2023-04-03.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.