Charles Elmer Allen (October 4, 1872 in

Horicon, Wisconsin Horicon is a city in Dodge County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 3,767 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Geography Horicon is located at (43.4482, -88.6329). According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has ...

– June 25, 1954) was an American botanist and cell biologist whose discoveries include the first documentation of

sex chromosome Sex chromosomes (also referred to as allosomes, heterotypical chromosome, gonosomes, heterochromosomes, or idiochromosomes) are chromosomes that carry the genes that determine the sex of an individual. The human sex chromosomes are a typical pair ...

s in plants. He was a member of the

United States National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the Nati ...

and the

American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS) is an American scholarly organization and learned society founded in 1743 in Philadelphia that promotes knowledge in the humanities and natural sciences through research, professional meetings, publicat ...

, and held presidencies of the

Botanical Society of America The Botanical Society of America (BSA) represents professional and amateur botanists, researchers, educators and students in over 80 countries of the world. It functions as a United States nonprofit 501(c)(3) membership society. History The soc ...

(1921), the

Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

(1931-1933), the

American Society of Naturalists The American Society of Naturalists (ASN) was founded in 1883 and is one of the oldest professional societies dedicated to the biological sciences in North America. The purpose of the Society is "to advance and diffuse knowledge of organic evoluti ...

(1936), and the

American Microscopical Society The American Microscopical Society (AMS) is a society of biologists dedicated to promoting the use of microscopy. A cohort of biologists and science educators, the AMS's members use a wide array of microscopical techniques including (light microsc ...

(1948). Allen was a professor at the

University of Wisconsin A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Uni ...

for over 20 years.

References

1872 births 1954 deaths American botanists American cell biologists American bryologists Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences University of Wisconsin–Madison faculty People from Horicon, Wisconsin Members of the American Philosophical Society Presidents of the American Society of Naturalists {{US-botanist-stub