Clarence Erwin McClung

Clarence Erwin McClung (born April 6, 1870 in Clayton , California , † January 17, 1946 in Swarthmore , Pennsylvania ) was an American zoologist , paleontologist and geneticist . Together with Hermann Henking (1858–1942), he discovered in 1891 that sex was determined by the X chromosome (in its terminology: the "accessory chromosome"). Building on the work of Henking and McClung, Nettie Stevens discovered in 1905 that the sex of insects is determined by different chromosomes, and thus provided a decisive clue to the chromosome theory of inheritance.

McClung introduced the term technicus " chromatid " to genetics in 1900 .

Professional career

McClung first graduated from public high school in Columbus , Kansas . In 1892 he graduated from the University of Kansas School of Pharmacy . He then taught chemistry and pharmacy for a year. He then enrolled at the University of Kansas to study zoology. There he studied with Samuel Wendell Williston (1852-1918). He received his BA in 1896 , an MA in 1898 and a Ph.D. in 1902. He also studied with Edmund B. Wilson (1856–1939) at Columbia University and with William Morton Wheeler (1865–1937) at the University of Chicago . In 1898 he became assistant professor of zoology at the University of Kansas, 1901 associate professor and 1906 full professor. Among his students was Walter Stanborough Sutton (1877-1916), who also served at the University of Kansas from 1902 to 1912 as curator of the paleontological collections and from 1902 to 1906 as dean of the medical school. From 1912 until his retirement in 1940, McClung directed the zoological laboratories at the University of Pennsylvania .

In 1920 McClung was elected to the National Academy of Sciences .

Web links

• Kurzbiografie (English)