Richard Marshall Eakin ( ; May 5, 1910 – November 25, 1999), was an American zoologist and professor at the
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...
. He was widely known for portraying prominent historical scientists during some of his lectures; dressing in costume and speaking in character to entertain and inform his students. A 1953
Guggenheim fellow
Guggenheim Fellowships are grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, endowed by the late Simon and Olga Hirsh Guggenheim. These awards are bestowed upon individuals who have demonstrated d ...
, he wrote several books and more than 200 scientific papers. His research focused on eyes and vision in animals, especially the
parietal eye
A parietal eye (third eye, pineal eye) is a part of the epithalamus in some vertebrates. The eye is at the top of the head; is photoreceptive; and is associated with the pineal gland, which regulates circadian rhythmicity and hormone production ...
or "third eye" of vertebrates, as well as animal
embryology
Embryology (from Ancient Greek, Greek ἔμβρυον, ''embryon'', "the unborn, embryo"; and -λογία, ''-logy, -logia'') is the branch of animal biology that studies the Prenatal development (biology), prenatal development of gametes (sex ...
. He served as chairman of the UC Berkeley Department of Zoology for over 10 years, was elected president of the
Western Society of Naturalists and
American Society of Zoologists The Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology is organized to integrate the many fields of specialization which occur in the broad field of biology..
The society was formed in 1902 as the American Society of Zoologists, through the merger of ...
, and was a
fellow
A fellow is a title and form of address for distinguished, learned, or skilled individuals in academia, medicine, research, and industry. The exact meaning of the term differs in each field. In learned society, learned or professional society, p ...
of the
California Academy of Sciences
The California Academy of Sciences is a research institute and natural history museum in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, that is among the largest List of natural history museums, museums of natural history in the world, housing over ...
.
Eakin was born in
Florence, Colorado
Florence is a statutory city in Fremont County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 3,822 at the 2020 United States census. Florence is a part of the Cañon City, CO Micropolitan Statistical Area and the Front Range Urban Corr ...
, and grew up in
Tulsa, Oklahoma
Tulsa ( ) is the List of municipalities in Oklahoma, second-most-populous city in the U.S. state, state of Oklahoma, after Oklahoma City, and the List of United States cities by population, 48th-most-populous city in the United States. The po ...
. He initially studied at the
University of Tulsa
The University of Tulsa (TU) is a Private university, private research university in Tulsa, Oklahoma. It has a historic affiliation with the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), Presbyterian Church, although it is now nondenominational, and the campus ...
, planning a career in the clergy, before switching to zoology, earning a bachelor's degree and doctorate at UC Berkeley. After postdoctoral studies in Germany under
Hans Spemann
Hans Spemann (; 27 June 1869 – 9 September 1941) was a German embryologist who was awarded a Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1935 for his student Hilde Mangold's discovery of the effect now known as embryonic induction, an influenc ...
he returned to UC Berkeley as a faculty member, where he would teach for over 40 years, earning awards and recognition for his teaching before retiring with highest faculty honors.
Early life and education (1910–1936)
Richard Eakin was born on May 5, 1910, in
Florence, Colorado
Florence is a statutory city in Fremont County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 3,822 at the 2020 United States census. Florence is a part of the Cañon City, CO Micropolitan Statistical Area and the Front Range Urban Corr ...
, to parents Marshall and Mary Elizabeth Eakin.
He attended high school in
Tulsa, Oklahoma
Tulsa ( ) is the List of municipalities in Oklahoma, second-most-populous city in the U.S. state, state of Oklahoma, after Oklahoma City, and the List of United States cities by population, 48th-most-populous city in the United States. The po ...
, graduating in 1927. He initially planned to go into the
clergy
Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...
, enrolling in the
University of Tulsa
The University of Tulsa (TU) is a Private university, private research university in Tulsa, Oklahoma. It has a historic affiliation with the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), Presbyterian Church, although it is now nondenominational, and the campus ...
and studying subjects such as theology and Greek for two years, before deciding to pursue
zoology
Zoology ( , ) is the scientific study of animals. Its studies include the anatomy, structure, embryology, Biological classification, classification, Ethology, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinction, extinct, and ...
.
In 1929, Eakin moved to
Berkeley, California
Berkeley ( ) is a city on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay in northern Alameda County, California, United States. It is named after the 18th-century Anglo-Irish bishop and philosopher George Berkeley. It borders the cities of Oakland, Cali ...
to attend
UC Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after the Anglo-Irish philosopher George Berkele ...
. He earned his A.B. in 1931, then enrolled in graduate school under J. Franklin Daniel, an
ichthyologist
Ichthyology is the branch of zoology devoted to the study of fish, including bony fish (Osteichthyes), cartilaginous fish (Chondrichthyes), and jawless fish (Agnatha). According to FishBase, 35,800 species of fish had been described as of March 2 ...
and
embryologist
Embryology (from Greek ἔμβρυον, ''embryon'', "the unborn, embryo"; and -λογία, ''-logia'') is the branch of animal biology that studies the prenatal development of gametes (sex cells), fertilization, and development of embryos and ...
. For his dissertation, Eakin studied the development of salamander and frog embryos, earning a PhD in zoology in 1935. From 1935 to 1936 he worked in Germany as a postdoctoral scholar in the laboratories of embryologists and Nobel laureate
Hans Spemann
Hans Spemann (; 27 June 1869 – 9 September 1941) was a German embryologist who was awarded a Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1935 for his student Hilde Mangold's discovery of the effect now known as embryonic induction, an influenc ...
.
On August 8, 1935,
Eakin married Mary Mulford, daughter of
Walter Mulford, a Berkeley professor of
forestry
Forestry is the science and craft of creating, managing, planting, using, conserving and repairing forests and woodlands for associated resources for human and Natural environment, environmental benefits. Forestry is practiced in plantations and ...
.
Career (1936–1977)
Upon his return to UC Berkeley in 1936, Eakin was appointed instructor of zoology, becoming assistant professor in 1940 and full professor in 1949. He was assistant dean of the
College of Letters and Science from 1940 to 1943, and chairman of the Department of Zoology from 1942 to 1948, and again from 1952 to 1957.
As an administrator he helped found the university's
Bodega Marine Laboratory,
Sagehen Creek Field Station, and Cancer Research Genetics Laboratory.
In 1956 he published a history of zoological research at Berkeley spanning the period from the university's 1868 founding through 1956, followed by a 1988 companion article covering the intervening 32 years.
Research

Eakin was known for his research of animal eyes and
photoreceptor cell
A photoreceptor cell is a specialized type of neuroepithelial cell found in the retina that is capable of visual phototransduction. The great biological importance of photoreceptors is that they convert light (visible electromagnetic radiation ...
s, especially the
parietal eye
A parietal eye (third eye, pineal eye) is a part of the epithalamus in some vertebrates. The eye is at the top of the head; is photoreceptive; and is associated with the pineal gland, which regulates circadian rhythmicity and hormone production ...
(the so-called "third eye") and associated
pineal gland
The pineal gland (also known as the pineal body or epiphysis cerebri) is a small endocrine gland in the brain of most vertebrates. It produces melatonin, a serotonin-derived hormone, which modulates sleep, sleep patterns following the diurnal c ...
of vertebrates.
He was persuaded to study the parietal eyes of reptiles by his colleague
Robert C. Stebbins
Robert Cyril Stebbins (March 31, 1915 – September 23, 2013) was an American herpetologist and illustrator known for his field guides and popular books as well as his studies of reptiles and amphibians. His ''Field Guide to Western Reptiles and ...
,
and the two published several articles on the parietal eye of
western fence lizard
The western fence lizard (''Sceloporus occidentalis'') is a species of lizard native to Arizona, New Mexico, and California, as well as Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Northern Mexico. The species is widely found in its native range ...
s. Eakin, alone or with colleagues, published many other papers on the anatomy and function of reptilian parietal eyes and similar structures in amphibians. Eakin's 1973 monograph, ''The Third Eye'', was received as comprehensive and detailed enough for biologists, yet in a style approachable to non-scientists or undergraduates.
He also studied amphibian development and was recognized as a skilled and early practitioner of
electron microscopy
An electron microscope is a microscope that uses a beam of electrons as a source of illumination. It uses electron optics that are analogous to the glass lenses of an optical light microscope to control the electron beam, for instance focusing i ...
.
Eakin received a
Guggenheim Fellowship
Guggenheim Fellowships are Grant (money), grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, endowed by the late Simon Guggenheim, Simon and Olga Hirsh Guggenheim. These awards are bestowed upon indiv ...
in 1953, and the
Boston Museum of Science
The Museum of Science (MoS) is a nature and science museum and indoor zoological establishment located in Science Park, a plot of land in Boston and Cambridge, Massachusetts, Cambridge, Massachusetts, spanning the Charles River. Along with over 7 ...
's Walker Prize in 1976. He authored or co-authored over 200 scientific papers, was elected president of the
Western Society of Naturalists in 1949 and
American Society of Zoologists The Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology is organized to integrate the many fields of specialization which occur in the broad field of biology..
The society was formed in 1902 as the American Society of Zoologists, through the merger of ...
in 1975, and was a
fellow
A fellow is a title and form of address for distinguished, learned, or skilled individuals in academia, medicine, research, and industry. The exact meaning of the term differs in each field. In learned society, learned or professional society, p ...
of the
California Academy of Sciences
The California Academy of Sciences is a research institute and natural history museum in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, that is among the largest List of natural history museums, museums of natural history in the world, housing over ...
for 52 years.
"Great scientists speak again"
In 1970, in order to combat boredom and absenteeism in his introductory zoology course, Eakin gave his first lecture in character, appearing unannounced in full costume and makeup as
William Harvey
William Harvey (1 April 1578 – 3 June 1657) was an English physician who made influential contributions to anatomy and physiology. He was the first known physician to describe completely, and in detail, pulmonary and systemic circulation ...
, the 17th-century physician who made the first complete descriptions of blood circulation. His portrayals of historic scientists, including
Charles Darwin
Charles Robert Darwin ( ; 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English Natural history#Before 1900, naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all speci ...
,
Louis Pasteur
Louis Pasteur (, ; 27 December 1822 – 28 September 1895) was a French chemist, pharmacist, and microbiologist renowned for his discoveries of the principles of vaccination, Fermentation, microbial fermentation, and pasteurization, the la ...
, and
Gregor Mendel
Gregor Johann Mendel Order of Saint Augustine, OSA (; ; ; 20 July 1822 – 6 January 1884) was an Austrian Empire, Austrian biologist, meteorologist, mathematician, Augustinians, Augustinian friar and abbot of St Thomas's Abbey, Brno, St. Thom ...
, often involved elaborate wigs, makeup, costumes, and props, aided by professional makeup artists and drama teachers-
his portrayal of Darwin required up to three hours of makeup, wig, and beard preparation.
His lectures were popular with students from the start and attracted international attention, with profiles in publications such as ''
LIFE
Life, also known as biota, refers to matter that has biological processes, such as Cell signaling, signaling and self-sustaining processes. It is defined descriptively by the capacity for homeostasis, Structure#Biological, organisation, met ...
'',
''
Der Spiegel
(, , stylized in all caps) is a German weekly news magazine published in Hamburg. With a weekly circulation of about 724,000 copies in 2022, it is one of the largest such publications in Europe. It was founded in 1947 by John Seymour Chaloner ...
'',
and the ''
International Herald Tribune
The ''International Herald Tribune'' (''IHT'') was a daily English-language newspaper published in Paris, France, for international English-speaking readers. It published under the name ''International Herald Tribune'' starting in 1967, but its ...
''. He gave guest lectures at universities nationwide, and in 1975 compiled the text of his lectures, along with photographs, diagrams, and stage directions, into a book, ''Great Scientists Speak Again''. Eakin typically gave six lectures in character during a course, with each "guest lecturer" introducing particular concepts. The figures portrayed, in order of appearance during a typical course,
were:
*
William Harvey
William Harvey (1 April 1578 – 3 June 1657) was an English physician who made influential contributions to anatomy and physiology. He was the first known physician to describe completely, and in detail, pulmonary and systemic circulation ...
(1578–1657)
*
William Beaumont
William Beaumont (November 21, 1785 – April 25, 1853) was a surgeon in the U.S. Army who became known as the "Father of Gastric Physiology" for his research on human digestion on Alexis St. Martin.[Hans Spemann
Hans Spemann (; 27 June 1869 – 9 September 1941) was a German embryologist who was awarded a Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1935 for his student Hilde Mangold's discovery of the effect now known as embryonic induction, an influenc ...]
(1869–1941)
*
Gregor Mendel
Gregor Johann Mendel Order of Saint Augustine, OSA (; ; ; 20 July 1822 – 6 January 1884) was an Austrian Empire, Austrian biologist, meteorologist, mathematician, Augustinians, Augustinian friar and abbot of St Thomas's Abbey, Brno, St. Thom ...
(1822–1884)
*
Louis Pasteur
Louis Pasteur (, ; 27 December 1822 – 28 September 1895) was a French chemist, pharmacist, and microbiologist renowned for his discoveries of the principles of vaccination, Fermentation, microbial fermentation, and pasteurization, the la ...
(1822–1895)
*
Charles Darwin
Charles Robert Darwin ( ; 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English Natural history#Before 1900, naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all speci ...
(1809–1882)
Eakin considered his impersonation of Spemann to be his most authoritative, due to knowing him personally from working in his lab in Germany, helping translate a book of his into English, and becoming good friends.
Eakin was recognized for his teaching long before he first donned a wig: in 1963 he was the first recipient of Berkeley's Senior Citation for Distinguished Teaching and in 1968 received the Outstanding Teaching Award from the
Associated Students of the University of California
The Associated Students of the University of California (ASUC) is the autonomous and officially recognized students' association of the University of California, Berkeley. It is the only students' association within the University of California ...
.
Later years (1977–1999)
Eakin retired in 1977 and was honored with the Berkeley Citation, the highest honor given to Berkeley faculty. He continued to periodically perform his lectures in character until 1988, and also taught embryology at several
historically black colleges and universities
Historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) are institutions of higher education in the United States that were established before the Civil Rights Act of 1964 with the intention of serving African Americans. Most are in the Southern U ...
in the southern U.S., including
Tougaloo College
Tougaloo College is a private historically black college in the Tougaloo area of Jackson, Mississippi, United States. It is affiliated with the United Church of Christ and Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). It was established in 1869 by ...
, Mississippi;
Talladega College
Talladega College is a Private college, private, Historically black colleges and universities, historically black college in Talladega, Alabama. It is Alabama's oldest private historically black college and offers 17 degree programs. It is accred ...
and
Tuskegee University
Tuskegee University (Tuskegee or TU; formerly known as the Tuskegee Institute) is a private, historically black land-grant university in Tuskegee, Alabama, United States. It was founded as a normal school for teachers on July 4, 1881, by the ...
, Alabama; and
Fisk University
Fisk University is a Private university, private Historically black colleges and universities, historically black Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Nashville, Tennessee. It was founded in 1866 and its campus i ...
in Tennessee.
Eakin was a member of the
First Congregational Church of Berkeley
First most commonly refers to:
* First, the ordinal form of the number 1
First or 1st may also refer to:
Acronyms
* Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array
* Far Infrared a ...
for over 60 years, where his first wife, Mary Mulford Eakin – ordained by the
United Church of Christ
The United Church of Christ (UCC) is a socially liberal mainline Protestant Christian denomination based in the United States, with historical and confessional roots in the Congregational, Restorationist, Continental Reformed, and Lutheran t ...
– was associate minister.
He co-authored a history of the church in 1999. In a 1981 interview, Eakin stressed that matters of faith and science should be kept separate – as he did in his own life as both a Christian and a scientist – and that proponents of teaching
creationism alongside evolution in public schools should similarly recognize the differences. "The great concepts of justice, mercy and love- science cannot test them or write a formula", he said, "They are human beliefs and are outside the realm of science."
His first wife Mary, with whom he had three children (one of whom died prior to 1956
), died in 1980. He later remarried Barbara Nichols, a former professor at the
University of California, San Francisco
The University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in San Francisco, California, United States. It is part of the University of California system and is dedic ...
.
Eakin died on November 25, 1999, at his home in
Danville, California
The Town of DanvillePronounced is located in the San Ramon Valley in Contra Costa County, California, United States. It is one of the List of municipalities in California, incorporated municipalities in California that use "town" in their nam ...
, at the age of 89. He was survived by his wife Barbara, a son and daughter from his first marriage, and two stepdaughters.
Books
*
*
*
* (with James M. Spitze)
References
External links
*
Great Scientists Speak Again' at
Google Books
Google Books (previously known as Google Book Search, Google Print, and by its code-name Project Ocean) is a service from Google that searches the full text of books and magazines that Google has scanned, converted to text using optical charac ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Eakin, Richard Marshall
20th-century American zoologists
American embryologists
Microscopists
1910 births
1999 deaths
Scientists from the San Francisco Bay Area
People associated with the California Academy of Sciences
University of California, Berkeley alumni
University of California, Berkeley faculty
University of Tulsa alumni
People from Florence, Colorado