William BatesonDied 8 Feb 1926 at age 64 (born 8 Aug 1861).English biologist who published the first English translation (1900) of Gregor Mendel's work on heredity which he confirmed with his own experiments, and further demonstrated that heredity was apparent in animals as well as plants. His support of Mendel was as effective in awakening modern understanding of heredity as Thomas Huxley provided for Charles Darwin on evolution. Bateson coined (1905) the term genetics for the new science. He recognized gene linkage by which some characteristics are inherited together, rather than all characteristics being inherited independently (as later explained by Thomas Morgan). Earlier, he had contributed to understanding of embryology when, in 1885, proposed that the chordates evolved from primitive echinoderms.« |
