Herbert M. Evans

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Herbert McLean Evans, 1927

Herbert McLean Evans (born September 23, 1882 in Modesto , California - † March 6, 1971 ) was an American anatomist and endocrinologist . His main merits lie in the analysis of the sexual cycle in mammals, the discovery and chemical identification of vitamin E, and the isolation and purification of somatropin (GH) and adrenocorticotropin (ACTH).

Live and act

Evans' father was a doctor and his maternal uncle was the professor of surgery and dean of the faculty of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco , Robert McLean . Herbert Evans attended college in Berkeley , California to prepare for actual medical school . Among his teachers there was the well-known paleontologist John C. Merriam .

In 1904 Evans began studying medicine at the University of California, Berkeley , and in 1905 he moved to Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore , Maryland, and married Anabel Tulloch. At Franklin P. Mall , Evans acquired special skills in staining the smallest blood vessels as a student. Mall's research group included Warren H. Lewis, Ross G. Harrison, and Florence Rena Sabin . Under William Stewart Halsted , Evans examined the blood supply to the parathyroid glands and in 1907 published the first work on the protection of the parathyroid glands during goiter resection and on the blood supply to larger lymph vessels . Other publications Evans' prior to completing medical school in 1908 concerned the embryonic development of the vasculature and the growth of lymphatic vessels in malignant tumors .

After graduation, Evans Mills became a research assistant and in 1910 was the author of the chapter on embryonic development of the vascular system in the Manual of Human Embryology by Mall and Franz Keibel ( Freiburg im Breisgau ). Several research stays took Evans to Germany, where he carried out experiments with Werner Schulemann on the in vivo staining of tissues with azo dyes (including trypan blue ) and made important contributions to the characterization of macrophages and developed the dye Evans blue . From 1913 Evans also worked in the Carnegie Institution of Washington's newly established department of embryology at Johns Hopkins University, where he systematically prepared early human embryos .

In 1915 Evans became professor of anatomy at the University of California, Berkeley . With George W. Corner , whom he took from Baltimore to Berkeley as an assistant professor , Evans carried out important studies on the anatomy and physiology of the reproductive system in rodents . With Joseph Long, Evans published The Oestrous Cycle in the Rat and Its Associated Phenomena in 1922 . Together with his assistant Katherine Scott Bishop , Evans published a series of papers on the influence of food on the sexual cycle. Using special diets for the test animals, Evans and colleagues were ultimately able to identify vitamin E as essential both for maintaining a pregnancy and for the production of sperm and thus for reproduction par excellence. Further work by Evans dealt with the hormones of the anterior pituitary gland and led to the isolation of growth hormone ( somatotropin ) and other hormones of the anterior pituitary gland.

In 1930 Evans became director of the university's newly formed Institute of Experimental Biology and was appointed Herzstein Professor of Biology . From 1930 to 1932 he was president of the American Association of Anatomists . In 1932 Evans went to the Rockefeller Institute in New York City as a visiting researcher for a year . In 1953 Evans retired .

Evans was a bibliophile and collected valuable medical-historical writings. Parts of his collection have been exhibited in the History of Science Club at Berkeley University. On several occasions he put together outstanding collections of famous scientific first editions , some of which were bought up by medical history libraries. In addition to the scientific collections, there were those with Americana , Japanese prints or prints by Jacques Callot .

Evans was married three times. He and his first two wives each had a daughter. In 1970 Evans suffered a stroke and was no longer able to work scientifically.

Awards (selection)

Herbert Evans held honorary doctorates following universities: University of Paris (Sorbonne), Geneva University , Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos , University of California, Berkeley and Johns Hopkins University . Between 1924 and 1953 he was nominated a total of 30 times for the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine , but never received the award.

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Brain and Behavior. University of California Press, 1961 in Google Book Search
  2. ^ Jacob I. Zeitlin: Herbert M. Evans, Pioneer Collector of Books in the History of Science. Isis, 62, 507 (1972). Quoted from: George W. Corner : Herbert McLean Evans. 1882-1971. In: Biographical Memoirs. National Academy of Sciences , 1974 ( PDF, 1.8 MB )
  3. ↑ Book of Members 1780 – present, Chapter E. (PDF; 477 kB) In: American Academy of Arts and Sciences (amacad.org). Retrieved July 20, 2017 (English).
  4. ↑ member entry by Herbert Evans at the German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina , accessed on 12 October 2012 found.
  5. ^ List of Fellows of the Royal Society 1660–2007 (PDF, 1.0 MB) at the Royal Society (royalsociety.org); accessed on August 31, 2012
  6. ^ Past Recipients - The Passano Foundation, Inc. In: passanofoundation.org. Retrieved April 17, 2019 .
  7. ^ Nomination Database. In: nobelprize.org. July 20, 2017, accessed July 20, 2017 .
personal data
SURNAME Evans, Herbert M.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Evans, Herbert; Evans, Herbert McLean; McLean Evans, Herbert
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American anatomist and endocrinologist
DATE OF BIRTH September 23, 1882
PLACE OF BIRTH Modesto , California
DATE OF DEATH March 6, 1971