Derald Langham
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Derald George Langham (May 27, 1913 – May 10, 1991) was an American agricultural
geneticist A geneticist is a biologist or physician who studies genetics, the science of genes, heredity, and variation of organisms. A geneticist can be employed as a scientist or a lecturer. Geneticists may perform general research on genetic process ...
,
sesame Sesame (; ''Sesamum indicum'') is a plant in the genus '' Sesamum'', also called benne. Numerous wild relatives occur in Africa and a smaller number in India. It is widely naturalized in tropical regions around the world and is cultivated for ...
researcher, and founder of the Genesa Foundation. He is known as the "father of
sesame Sesame (; ''Sesamum indicum'') is a plant in the genus '' Sesamum'', also called benne. Numerous wild relatives occur in Africa and a smaller number in India. It is widely naturalized in tropical regions around the world and is cultivated for ...
" in the Western Hemisphere for his basic research on the
genetics Genetics is the study of genes, genetic variation, and heredity in organisms.Hartl D, Jones E (2005) It is an important branch in biology because heredity is vital to organisms' evolution. Gregor Mendel, a Moravian Augustinians, Augustinian ...
of sesame. Most of the sesame lines grown in the Americas came from his breeding work. Sesame plants are a rich source of
vitamins Vitamins are organic molecules (or a set of closely related molecules called vitamers) that are essential to an organism in small quantities for proper metabolic function. Essential nutrients cannot be synthesized in the organism in suff ...
and
minerals In geology and mineralogy, a mineral or mineral species is, broadly speaking, a solid substance with a fairly well-defined chemical composition and a specific crystal structure that occurs naturally in pure form.John P. Rafferty, ed. (2011): M ...
, and Langham focused on
cross-breeding A crossbreed is an organism with purebred parents of two different breeds, varieties, or populations. A domestic animal of unknown ancestry, where the breed status of only one parent or grandparent is known, may also be called a crossbreed though ...
the plant into more fruitful versions. He also attempted to look for other uses of sesame beyond a mere food source. Derald Langham is less known for his genetic work in
corn Maize (; ''Zea mays''), also known as corn in North American English, is a tall stout Poaceae, grass that produces cereal grain. It was domesticated by indigenous peoples of Mexico, indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 9,000 years ago ...
and
beans A bean is the seed of some plants in the legume family (Fabaceae) used as a vegetable for human consumption or animal feed. The seeds are often preserved through drying (a ''pulse''), but fresh beans are also sold. Dried beans are tradition ...
. The Rockefeller Institute in
Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...
incorporated his varieties into their materials and his genes are carried on in almost every corn hybrid used in the world.


Family and education

He was born on a farm in
Polk City, Iowa Polk City is a city in Polk County, Iowa, Polk County, Iowa, United States. The population was 6533 in the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, an increase from 2,344 in 2000 United States Census, 2000. It is part of the Des Moines, Iowa, Des M ...
, where his interest in plants and animals was piqued at an early age. Langham attended
Iowa State College Iowa State University of Science and Technology (Iowa State University, Iowa State, or ISU) is a public land-grant research university in Ames, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1858 as the Iowa Agricultural College and Model Farm, Iowa State be ...
and studied
agronomy Agronomy is the science and technology of producing and using plants by agriculture for food, fuel, fiber, chemicals, recreation, or land conservation. Agronomy has come to include research of plant genetics, plant physiology, meteorology, and ...
, where he met the head of the genetics department, Dr. Ernest W. Lindstrom. Lindstrom encouraged him to pursue his interest in genetics, and he continued his studies under Professor Rollins A. Emerson at
Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...
. Langham received his first Ph.D. in genetics in from Cornell University in Plant Genetics in 1939, and his second Ph.D. in humanities in 1969 from
United States International University United States International University (USIU) was a nonprofit university based in San Diego, California, that was accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges. At its peak, it had two additional American campuses and three inter ...
in San Diego. He later taught at
Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...
after spending a number of years in
Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...
, and finally settled his family in
Fallbrook, California Fallbrook is a census-designated place in northern San Diego County, California. It had a population of 32,267 at the 2020 census. Fallbrook is immediately east of the U.S. Marine Corps' Camp Pendleton. It is known for its avocado groves and c ...
. He had four children with his wife Margery "Maje" Langham - Jeri, Ray, Lisa, and Tina.


Venezuela plant research

While still in his twenties, Langham was hired by the Venezuelan government in 1939 to be the geneticist at the first agricultural experiment station in Venezuela. Much of his funding came from the
Rockefeller Foundation The Rockefeller Foundation is an American private foundation and philanthropic medical research and arts funding organization based at 420 Fifth Avenue, New York City. The foundation was created by Standard Oil magnate John D. Rockefeller (" ...
National Science Program, one of many programs founded by
Nelson Rockefeller Nelson Aldrich "Rocky" Rockefeller (July 8, 1908 – January 26, 1979) was the 41st vice president of the United States, serving from 1974 to 1977 under President Gerald Ford. He was also the 49th governor of New York, serving from 1959 to 197 ...
to bolster economic programs in Latin American countries. Langham served as a consultant to Rockefeller shortly after his Venezuela government service. Emerson's successor at Cornell, Herbert Whetzel, had directed a mission for the Venezuela Ministry of Agriculture in 1938. He recommended Langham to the Venezuelan government for a position at the Agricultural Experiment Station in
Caracas Caracas ( , ), officially Santiago de León de Caracas (CCS), is the capital and largest city of Venezuela, and the center of the Metropolitan Region of Caracas (or Greater Caracas). Caracas is located along the Guaire River in the northern p ...
. Langham also taught genetics at the new College of Agriculture, which was set up the previous year. He later became the leader of the Venezuela National Plant Genetics Program. His growing techniques helped to feed the population through new strains of crops during
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, after German U-Boats had disrupted the flow of food supplies to the country by harassing Caribbean shipping lanes. He soon discovered a variety of cross-breeding techniques to increase the yield and sustainability of corn and sesame. One plant he developed increased the yield of corn in Venezuela by 400 percent, necessitating the building of a corn
seedbank A seed bank (also seed banks, seeds bank or seed vault) stores seeds to preserve genetic diversity; hence it is a type of gene bank. There are many reasons to store seeds. One is to preserve the genes that plant breeders need to increase yield, ...
to save local strains of the plant in Central and
South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...
. His crash program in self-sufficiency during World War II led the Venezuelan government to place him in charge of the country's entire agricultural sector. Venezuelan President
Rafael Caldera Rafael Antonio Caldera Rodríguez ( ; 24 January 1916 – 24 December 2009) was a Venezuelan politician and academician who was the 46th and 51st president of Venezuela from 1969 to 1974 and again from 1994 to 1999, thus becoming the longest se ...
Rodriguez later awarded him the Order of Merit of Performance in 1972, the highest honor ever given to a foreigner at the time. During his award ceremony he was honored as the "father of modern agriculture in Venezuela." He also trained future Ministers of Agriculture and most of the leaders in agriculture from the 1940s to 1960s.


Post-Venezuela years

Langham left Venezuelan government service in December 1949 after being squeezed out by political leaders in the agricultural department. The leaders did not believe a foreigner should serve at such a high post in government.Vessuri, Hebi.
The Rockefeller Foundation in Venezuela in the 1940s
. ''International Scientific Cooperation Journal''. Volume 7, 1996
He stayed in Venezuela for another ten years, continuing his research through private foundations. Eventually, he departed the country so his children could pursue their education in the United States, and moved to Connecticut to take a position at Yale University. He still commuted back to Venezuela occasionally to keep contacts for his company Genetica Venezolana, S.A. Langham also formed two other companies, including The Sesamum Foundation, which was a non-profit organization with the motto “Serving Sesame”. The organization linked sesame researchers internationally and received/distributed sesame
germplasm Germplasm refers to genetic resources such as seeds, tissues, and DNA sequences that are maintained for the purpose of animal and plant breeding, conservation efforts, agriculture, and other research uses. These resources may take the form of s ...
. He was also one of the founders of Sesaco Corporation, a company still in operation that is based in
San Antonio, Texas San Antonio ( ; Spanish for "Anthony of Padua, Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the List of Texas metropolitan areas, third-largest metropolitan area in Texa ...
. Sesaco, an acronym for "sesame coordinators", developed the first totally mechanized sesame varieties.


Circle Gardening

His 1978 book “Circle Gardening” discusses his use of Genesa principles in the shaping and contouring of garden beds to enhance plant growth. While in Venezuela in the mid-1950s, Langham searched for a solution to the problem of keeping his valuable genetic strains of sesame from mixing together during heavy rains. During this search, he discovered that his sesame plants grew much better when planted in a circle, rather than in straight lines in usual growing patterns.


Genesa

In the 1950s Langham founded the Genesa Foundation, which promoted the use of Circle Gardening techniques and the Genesa ideas. Genesa, he later said, came from a combination of the word "
gene In biology, the word gene has two meanings. The Mendelian gene is a basic unit of heredity. The molecular gene is a sequence of nucleotides in DNA that is transcribed to produce a functional RNA. There are two types of molecular genes: protei ...
" with the letters "SA", which stand for South America. He also promoted the use of his Genesa Crystals, or eight-point patterns that reflect the cells of an embryonic organism. According to Dr. Langham, these crystals, now sold through many
new age New Age is a range of Spirituality, spiritual or Religion, religious practices and beliefs that rapidly grew in Western world, Western society during the early 1970s. Its highly eclecticism, eclectic and unsystematic structure makes a precise d ...
and
holistic Holism is the interdisciplinary idea that systems possess properties as wholes apart from the properties of their component parts. Julian Tudor Hart (2010''The Political Economy of Health Care''pp.106, 258 The aphorism "The whole is greater than t ...
jewelers, had "the full potential for infinite love, for infinite wisdom, for infinite form, for infinite energy, for infinite power, for the Soul, for eternal time, for infinite velocity, for infinite faith. It has all your goals, your desires, your motivations – even life itself." Langham believed that the crystal, known as an
Archimedean solid The Archimedean solids are a set of thirteen convex polyhedra whose faces are regular polygon and are vertex-transitive, although they aren't face-transitive. The solids were named after Archimedes, although he did not claim credit for them. They ...
or a
cuboctahedron A cuboctahedron is a polyhedron with 8 triangular faces and 6 square faces. A cuboctahedron has 12 identical vertex (geometry), vertices, with 2 triangles and 2 squares meeting at each, and 24 identical edge (geometry), edges, each separating a tr ...
, held infinite potential for people to bond with the energies in their lives. One could meditate in a larger Genesa crystal standing in a garden to help tune into the biofields of the surrounding plants. The supposed benefits of crystals, however, have not been accepted by the scientific community, and belief in crystal power is widely considered to be
pseudoscience Pseudoscience consists of statements, beliefs, or practices that claim to be both scientific and factual but are incompatible with the scientific method. Pseudoscience is often characterized by contradictory, exaggerated or unfalsifiable cl ...
. Langham went on to sponsor conferences throughout the United States, Venezuela, Europe, and Canada that sought to show students how to apply Genesa principles to all facets of their lives. He continued this work until his death in
Yuma, Arizona Yuma is a city in and the county seat of Yuma County, Arizona, United States. The city's population was 95,548 at the 2020 census, up from the 2010 census population of 93,064. Yuma is the principal city of the Yuma, Arizona, Metropolitan ...
, in 1991. The Derald G. Langham Memorial Research Grant, established in his honor through the Neotropical Grassland Conservancy, provides a $2000 grant to scientists in the American tropics doing research on grassland or associated ecosystem plants.


Publications

Langham had over 100 publications in various scholarly works, including
Science Science is a systematic discipline that builds and organises knowledge in the form of testable hypotheses and predictions about the universe. Modern science is typically divided into twoor threemajor branches: the natural sciences, which stu ...
and Journal of Crop Sciences. *''Circle Gardening: Producing Food by Genesa Principles'' (1978) *''13-dimensional genetics (Tomorrow's thinking today)'' (1967) *''Genesa: A Conceptual Model to Synthesize, Synchronize, and Vitalize Man's Interpretation of Universal Phenomena'' (1969) *''Genesa Dynamics Applied to Color, Number, Alphabet, Geography, and other Basic Systems'' by Derald G. Langham, Catherine B. Bruch, and James R. Shroads


References


External links


Genesa Crystals history

Young Design
* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20171214163601/http://www.sesaco.net/ Sesaco homepage* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20070314023216/http://www.uni-graz.at/~katzer/engl/Sesa_ind.html Katzer's Spice Pages: Sesamebr>Skeptic´s Dictionary entry on crystal power
{{DEFAULTSORT:Langham, Derald 1913 births 1991 deaths American geneticists Cornell University College of Agriculture and Life Sciences alumni Iowa State University alumni United States International University alumni People from Fallbrook, California