Theodosius Grigorievich Dobzhansky (; ; January 25, 1900 – December 18, 1975) was a Russian-born American
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 ...
and
evolutionary biologist
Evolutionary biology is the subfield of biology that studies the evolutionary processes such as natural selection, common descent, and speciation that produced the diversity of life on Earth. In the 1930s, the discipline of evolutionary biol ...
. He was a central figure in the field of
evolutionary biology
Evolutionary biology is the subfield of biology that studies the evolutionary processes such as natural selection, common descent, and speciation that produced the diversity of life on Earth. In the 1930s, the discipline of evolutionary biolo ...
for his work in shaping the
modern synthesis
Modern synthesis or modern evolutionary synthesis refers to several perspectives on evolutionary biology, namely:
* Modern synthesis (20th century), the term coined by Julian Huxley in 1942 to denote the synthesis between Mendelian genetics and s ...
and also popular for his support and promotion of
theistic evolution
Theistic evolution (also known as theistic evolutionism or God-guided evolution), alternatively called evolutionary creationism, is a view that God acts and creates through laws of nature. Here, God is taken as the primary cause while natural cau ...
as a practicing
Christian
A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...
.
Born in the
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...
, Dobzhansky immigrated to the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
in 1927 at the age of 27.
His 1937 work ''
Genetics and the Origin of Species
''Genetics and the Origin of Species'' is a 1937 book by the Ukrainian-American evolutionary biologist Theodosius Dobzhansky. It is regarded as one of the most important works of Modern synthesis (20th century), modern synthesis and was one of the ...
'' became a major influence on the modern synthesis. He was awarded the U.S.
National Medal of Science
The National Medal of Science is an honor bestowed by the President of the United States to individuals in science and engineering who have made important contributions to the advancement of knowledge in the fields of behavioral science, behavior ...
in 1964 and the
Franklin Medal
The Franklin Medal was a science award presented from 1915 until 1997 by the Franklin Institute located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country ...
in 1973.
Biography
Early life
Dobzhansky was born on January 25, 1900,
in
Nemirov
Nemyriv ( ; ) is a historic city in Vinnytsia Oblast (province) in Ukraine, located in the historical region of Podolia
Podolia or Podillia is a historic region in Eastern Europe located in the west-central and southwestern parts of Ukraine and ...
,
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...
(now Nemyriv,
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...
), the only child of Grigory Dobzhansky, a mathematics teacher, and Sophia Voinarsky.
[ He was given an unusual name, ]Theodosius Theodosius ( Latinized from the Greek "Θεοδόσιος", Theodosios, "given by god") is a given name. It may take the form Teodósio, Teodosie, Teodosije etc. Theodosia is a feminine version of the name.
Emperors of ancient Rome and Byzantium
...
, because he was born after his middle-aged parents prayed for a child to St. Theodosius of Chernigov. In 1910 the family moved to Kiev
Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...
.
At high school, Dobzhansky collected butterflies and decided to become a biologist.[ In 1915, he met Victor Luchnik who convinced him to specialize in ]beetles
Beetles are insects that form the Taxonomic rank, order Coleoptera (), in the superorder Holometabola. Their front pair of wings are hardened into wing-cases, elytra, distinguishing them from most other insects. The Coleoptera, with about 40 ...
instead. Dobzhansky attended the University of Kiev
The Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv (; also known as Kyiv University, Shevchenko University, or KNU) is a public university in Kyiv, Ukraine.
The university is the third-oldest university in Ukraine after the University of Lviv and ...
, where he then studied until 1924 specializing in entomology. He then moved to Leningrad (today St. Petersburg
Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. The city had a population of 5,601, ...
) to study under Yuri Filipchenko
Yuri Aleksandrovich Filipchenko, sometimes Philipchenko (; 1882 — 1930) was a U.S.S.R., Russian entomologist who coined the terms ''microevolution'' and ''macroevolution,'' as well as the mentor of geneticist Theodosius Dobzhansky. Though he him ...
, where a ''Drosophila melanogaster
''Drosophila melanogaster'' is a species of fly (an insect of the Order (biology), order Diptera) in the family Drosophilidae. The species is often referred to as the fruit fly or lesser fruit fly, or less commonly the "vinegar fly", "pomace fly" ...
'' laboratory had been established.
On August 8, 1924, Dobzhansky married geneticist Natalia "Natasha" Sivertzeva, who was working with Ivan Schmalhausen
Ivan Ivanovich Schmalhausen (; 23 April 1884 – 7 October 1963) was a Ukrainian and later Soviet zoologist and evolutionary biologist of German descent. He developed the theory of stabilizing selection, and took part in the development of the mo ...
in Kiev. The Dobzhanskys had one daughter, known under her married name as Sophie Coe
Sophie Dobzhansky Coe (July 7, 1933 – May 25, 1994) was an American anthropologist, food historian and author, who studied the history of chocolate.
Early life and education
Sophie Dobzhansky's parents, Natalia Sivertzeva and Theodosius Dobzha ...
, an anthropologist, food historian, and author, primarily known for her work on the history of chocolate
The history of chocolate dates back more than 5,000 years, when the Theobroma cacao, cacao tree was first domesticated in present-day southeast Ecuador. Soon after domestication, the tree was introduced to Mesoamerica, where cacao drinks gained ...
.
Before immigrating to the United States, Dobzhansky published 35 scientific works on entomology and genetics.
America
Dobzhansky immigrated to the United States in 1927 on a work–study scholarship from the International Education Board of 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 (" ...
. Upon arriving in New York City on December 27, he joined the ''Drosophila
''Drosophila'' (), from Ancient Greek δρόσος (''drósos''), meaning "dew", and φίλος (''phílos''), meaning "loving", is a genus of fly, belonging to the family Drosophilidae, whose members are often called "small fruit flies" or p ...
'' Group at Columbia University working alongside Thomas Hunt Morgan
Thomas Hunt Morgan (September 25, 1866 – December 4, 1945) was an Americans, American evolutionary biologist, geneticist, Embryology, embryologist, and science author who won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1933 for discoveries e ...
and Alfred Sturtevant
Alfred Henry Sturtevant (November 21, 1891 – April 5, 1970) was an American geneticist. Sturtevant constructed the first genetic map of a chromosome in 1911. Throughout his career he worked on the organism ''Drosophila melanogaster'' with ...
. Their work provided crucial information on Drosophila cytogenetics. Additionally, Dobzhansky and his team helped establish ''Drosophila pseudoobscura
''Drosophila pseudoobscura'' is a species of Drosophilidae, fruit fly, used extensively in lab studies of speciation. It is native to western North America.
In 2005, ''D. pseudoobscura'' was the second ''Drosophila'' species to have its genome ...
'', within the genus ''Drosophila'', as a favorable model organism in evolutionary-biological studies ever since they published their influential works. Dobzhansky's original mindset (after studying alongside Yuri Filipchenko
Yuri Aleksandrovich Filipchenko, sometimes Philipchenko (; 1882 — 1930) was a U.S.S.R., Russian entomologist who coined the terms ''microevolution'' and ''macroevolution,'' as well as the mentor of geneticist Theodosius Dobzhansky. Though he him ...
), was that there were serious doubts on using data obtained from phenomena happening in local populations (microevolution
Microevolution is the change in allele frequencies that occurs over time within a population. This change is due to four different processes: mutation, selection ( natural and artificial), gene flow and genetic drift. This change happens over ...
) and phenomena happening on a global scale (macroevolution
Macroevolution comprises the evolutionary processes and patterns which occur at and above the species level. In contrast, microevolution is evolution occurring within the population(s) of a single species. In other words, microevolution is the ...
). Filipchenko also believed that there were only two types of inheritance: Mendelian inheritance
Mendelian inheritance (also known as Mendelism) is a type of biological inheritance following the principles originally proposed by Gregor Mendel in 1865 and 1866, re-discovered in 1900 by Hugo de Vries and Carl Correns, and later popularize ...
of variation within species, and Non-Mendelian inheritance of variation in a macroevolutionary sense. Dobzhansky later stated that Filipchenko "bet on the wrong horse".
He followed Morgan to the California Institute of Technology
The California Institute of Technology (branded as Caltech) is a private research university in Pasadena, California, United States. The university is responsible for many modern scientific advancements and is among a small group of institutes ...
from 1930 to 1940. On the basis of his experiments, he articulated the idea that reproductive isolation
The mechanisms of reproductive isolation are a collection of evolutionary mechanisms, ethology, behaviors and physiology, physiological processes critical for speciation. They prevent members of different species from producing offspring, or ensu ...
can be caused by differences in presence of microbial symbionts between populations. In 1937, he published one of the major works of the modern evolutionary synthesis
Modern synthesis or modern evolutionary synthesis refers to several perspectives on evolutionary biology, namely:
* Modern synthesis (20th century), the term coined by Julian Huxley in 1942 to denote the synthesis between Mendelian genetics and s ...
, the synthesis of evolutionary biology
Evolutionary biology is the subfield of biology that studies the evolutionary processes such as natural selection, common descent, and speciation that produced the diversity of life on Earth. In the 1930s, the discipline of evolutionary biolo ...
with 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 ...
, titled ''Genetics and the Origin of Species
''Genetics and the Origin of Species'' is a 1937 book by the Ukrainian-American evolutionary biologist Theodosius Dobzhansky. It is regarded as one of the most important works of Modern synthesis (20th century), modern synthesis and was one of the ...
'', which amongst other things, defined evolution
Evolution is the change in the heritable Phenotypic trait, characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. It occurs when evolutionary processes such as natural selection and genetic drift act on genetic variation, re ...
as "a change in the frequency of an allele within a gene pool
The gene pool is the set of all genes, or genetic information, in any population, usually of a particular species.
Description
A large gene pool indicates extensive genetic diversity, which is associated with robust populations that can survi ...
". Dobzhansky's work was instrumental in spreading the idea that it is through mutations in genes that natural selection
Natural selection is the differential survival and reproduction of individuals due to differences in phenotype. It is a key mechanism of evolution, the change in the Heredity, heritable traits characteristic of a population over generation ...
takes place. Also in 1937, he became a naturalized citizen
Naturalization (or naturalisation) is the legal act or process by which a non-national of a country acquires the nationality of that country after birth. The definition of naturalization by the International Organization for Migration of the ...
of the United States. During this time, he had a very public falling out with one of his ''Drosophila'' collaborators, Alfred Sturtevant
Alfred Henry Sturtevant (November 21, 1891 – April 5, 1970) was an American geneticist. Sturtevant constructed the first genetic map of a chromosome in 1911. Throughout his career he worked on the organism ''Drosophila melanogaster'' with ...
, based primarily in professional competition.
He returned to Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...
from 1940 to 1962. Among his students was geneticist Bruce Wallace. In 1941, Dobzhansky was awarded the Daniel Giraud Elliot Medal
The Daniel Giraud Elliot Medal is awarded by the U.S. National Academy of Sciences "for meritorious work in zoology or paleontology study published in a three to five year period." Named after Daniel Giraud Elliot, it was first awarded in 1917.
L ...
from the National Academy of Sciences
The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, NGO, 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 ...
, of which he was also a member. He was elected to 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 ...
in 1942. In 1943, the University of São Paulo
The Universidade de São Paulo (, USP) is a public research university in the Brazilian state of São Paulo, and the largest public university in Brazil.
The university was founded on 25 January 1934, regrouping already existing schools in ...
awarded him an honorary doctorate
An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or '' ad hon ...
. He was one of the signatories of the 1950 UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...
statement ''The Race Question
UNESCO has published several statements about issues of race.
The statements include:
*''Statement on race'' (Paris, July 1950)
*''Statement on the nature of race and race differences'' (Paris, June 1951)
*''Proposals on the biological a ...
''. He was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (The Academy) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and other ...
in 1953. He then moved to the Rockefeller Institute (shortly to become Rockefeller University
The Rockefeller University is a Private university, private Medical research, biomedical Research university, research and graduate-only university in New York City, New York. It focuses primarily on the biological and medical sciences and pro ...
) until his retirement in 1971. In 1972 he was elected the founding president of the Behavior Genetics Association
The Behavior Genetics Association (BGA) is a learned society established in 1970 that promotes research into the connections between heredity and behavior, both human and animal. Its members support education and training in behavior genetics and ...
, and was recognized by the society for his role in behavior genetics
Behavioural genetics, also referred to as behaviour genetics, is a field of scientific research that uses genetic methods to investigate the nature and origins of individual differences in behaviour. While the name "behavioural genetics" c ...
, and the founding of the society by the creation of the Dobzhansky Award (for a lifetime of outstanding scholarship in behavior genetics).
Dobzhansky's work in the field of evolutionary genetics, with the help of Sewall Wright
Sewall Green Wright ForMemRS
HonFRSE (December 21, 1889March 3, 1988) was an American geneticist known for his influential work on evolutionary theory and also for his work on path analysis. He was a founder of population genetics alongside ...
, integrated standards of the theoretical, natural historical, and experimental work.
Dobzhansky was elected a Foreign Member of the Royal Society (ForMemRS) in 1965. In 1970, he published ''Genetics of the evolutionary process''.
Dobzhansky was renowned as the president of the Genetics Society of America
The Genetics Society of America (GSA) is a scholarly membership society of more than 5,500 genetics researchers and educators, established in 1931. The Society was formed from the reorganization of the Joint Genetics Sections of the
American Soc ...
in 1941, president of 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 ...
in 1950, president of the Society for the Study of Evolution
The Society for the Study of Evolution is a professional organization of evolutionary biologists. It was formed in the United States in 1946 to promote the study of evolution and the integration of various fields of science concerned with evolution ...
in 1951, president of the 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 1963, a member of the board of directors of the American Eugenics Society
The American Eugenics Society (AES) was a pro-eugenics organization dedicated to "furthering the discussion, advancement, and dissemination of knowledge about biological and sociocultural forces which affect the structure and composition of huma ...
in 1964, and president of the American Teilhard de Chardin
Pierre Teilhard de Chardin (; 1 May 1881 – 10 April 1955) was a French Jesuit, Catholic priest, scientist, palaeontologist, theologian, and teacher. He was Darwinian and progressive in outlook and the author of several influential theologica ...
Association in 1969.
Dobzhansky's research and studies allowed him to travel the world and receive honorary degrees in Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, England, Germany, Italy, Japan, and Sweden.
''Genetics and the Origin of Species''
Theodosius Dobzhansky published three editions of his book ''Genetics and the Origin of Species
''Genetics and the Origin of Species'' is a 1937 book by the Ukrainian-American evolutionary biologist Theodosius Dobzhansky. It is regarded as one of the most important works of Modern synthesis (20th century), modern synthesis and was one of the ...
''. Although the book was meant for people with a background in biology, it was easily understood. In the fields of genetics and evolution, Dobzhansky's book is acknowledged as one of the most important books ever written. With each revision of ''Genetics and the Origin of Species'', Dobzhansky added new material on crucial, up-to-date topics, and removed material he deemed to be no longer crucial. His book sparked trends in genetic research and theory.
The first edition of ''Genetics and the Origin of Species'' (1937) highlighted the most recent discoveries in genetics and how they applied to the concept of evolution. The book starts by addressing the problem of evolution and how modern discoveries in genetics could help find a solution. The book covers the chromosomal basis of Mendelian Inheritance
Mendelian inheritance (also known as Mendelism) is a type of biological inheritance following the principles originally proposed by Gregor Mendel in 1865 and 1866, re-discovered in 1900 by Hugo de Vries and Carl Correns, and later popularize ...
, how the effects from changes in chromosomes greater than gene mutations are common and acceptable, and how mutations form racial and specific differences. Dobzhansky explained how three levels could describe the processes of evolutionary population genetics: (1) the origin of raw materials by mutations of genes and chromosomes, (2) the changes in populations by changes in frequencies and combinations of mutations, (3) the fixation of changes by reproductive isolation. To support his writing and research, the bibliography was twenty-eight pages long with around six hundred sources.
In Dobzhansky's second edition of ''Genetics and the Origin of Species'' (1941), four years had gone by and he was able to add more research and advancements made in genetics. Around half of the new research he found was added to the last two chapters in his book: Patterns of Evolution, and Species as Natural Units. In the second to last chapter, Patterns of Evolution, Dobzhansky explained how on the path to a new adaptation, a method could be used to where a species could go through a less adaptive stage. The last chapter, Species as Natural Units, Dobzhansky explained some of the contributions made in genetics to what was called "the new systematics". Dobzhansky's second edition of the book also had twice as many sources in the bibliography than the first edition.
In the third revision of ''Genetics and the Origin of Species'' (1951), Dobzhansky rewrote all ten chapters on: Isolating Mechanisms, Mutation in Populations, Organic Diversity, Heredity and Mutation, Race Formation, Selection, Adaptive Polymorphism, Hybrid Sterility, Species as Natural Units, and Patterns of Evolution. Dobzhansky decided to remove the chapter on Polyploidy in the third edition. The new chapter on Adaptive Polymorphism highlighted Dobzhansky's research since the second edition. He included precise, quantitative evidence on effective natural selection
Natural selection is the differential survival and reproduction of individuals due to differences in phenotype. It is a key mechanism of evolution, the change in the Heredity, heritable traits characteristic of a population over generation ...
in laboratory and free populations.
Debate about race
Theodosius Dobzhansky and Ashley Montagu
Montague Francis Ashley-Montagu (born Israel Ehrenberg; June 28, 1905November 26, 1999) was a British-American anthropologist who popularized the study of topics such as race and gender and their relation to politics and development. He was the ...
debated the use and validity of the term "race" over a period of many years without reaching an agreement. Montagu argued that "race" was so laden with toxic associations that it was a word best eliminated from science completely. Dobzhansky argued that science should not give in to the misuses to which it had been subjected, and that the concept of animal and plant races has been important in biology; the modern synthesis
Modern synthesis or modern evolutionary synthesis refers to several perspectives on evolutionary biology, namely:
* Modern synthesis (20th century), the term coined by Julian Huxley in 1942 to denote the synthesis between Mendelian genetics and s ...
used the concept for describing the diverging biological populations differing in gene frequencies. This was done in hopes that its foundation in population genetics
Population genetics is a subfield of genetics that deals with genetic differences within and among populations, and is a part of evolutionary biology. Studies in this branch of biology examine such phenomena as Adaptation (biology), adaptation, s ...
would undermine the deeply ingrained social prejudices associated with "race".
His concern with the interface between humans and biology may have come from different factors. The main factor would be the race prejudice that contributed in Europe that triggered WWII
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 ...
. His concern also dealt with religion in human life which he speaks about in his book ''The Biology of Ultimate Concern'' in 1967. "The pervasiveness of genetic variation provides the biological foundation of human individuality".[ Dobzhansky talks about in great detail that "human nature has 2 dimensions: the biological, which mankind shares with the rest of life, and the cultural, which is exclusive to humans."][ Both of these are believed to have come from "biological evolution and cultural evolution".][
Dobzhansky sought to put an end to the pseudoscience that purports genetic makeup to determine race, and thus rank in society. Harrison E. Salisbury wrote in a ]New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
review of Dobzhansky's book ''Heredity and the Future of Man'' that Dobzhansky could not, together with other scientists, agree upon what defines a race. Dobzhansky stated that a true bloodline for man could not be identified. He did not believe that a person's genetic makeup decided whether or not he would be a great man but rather that man "has the rare opportunity 'to direct his evolution'".
Final illness and the "Light of Evolution"
Dobzhansky's wife Natasha died of coronary thrombosis
Coronary thrombosis is defined as the formation of a blood clot inside a blood vessel of the heart. This blood clot may then restrict blood flow within the heart, leading to heart tissue damage, or a myocardial infarction, also known as a heart ...
on February 22, 1969. Earlier (on June 1, 1968), Theodosius had been diagnosed with lymphocytic leukemia
Lymphoid leukemias are a group of leukemias affecting circulating lymphocytes, a type of white blood cell. The lymphocytic leukemias are closely related to lymphomas of the lymphocytes, to the point that some of them are unitary disease entities t ...
(a chronic form of leukemia), and had been given a few months to a few years to live. He retired in 1971, moving to the University of California, Davis
The University of California, Davis (UC Davis, UCD, or Davis) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Davis, California, United States. It is the northernmost of the ten campuses of the University ...
where his student Francisco J. Ayala
Francisco José Ayala Pereda (March 12, 1934 – March 3, 2023) was a Spanish-American evolutionary biologist and philosopher who was a longtime faculty member at the University of California, Irvine, and University of California, Davis.
Ayal ...
had been made assistant professor, and where he continued working as an emeritus professor. He published one of his most famous essays "" in 1973, influenced by the paleontologist and priest Pierre Teilhard de Chardin
Pierre Teilhard de Chardin (; 1 May 1881 – 10 April 1955) was a French Jesuit, Catholic priest, scientist, palaeontologist, theologian, and teacher. He was Darwinian and progressive in outlook and the author of several influential theologi ...
.
By 1975, his leukemia had become more severe, and on November 11 he traveled to San Jacinto, California
San Jacinto ( , ; ) is a city in Riverside County, California, United States. It is located at the north end of the San Jacinto Valley, with Hemet, California, Hemet to its south and Beaumont, California, Beaumont to its north. The mountains ...
, for treatment and care. Working until his last day as a professor of genetics, Dobzhansky died (from heart failure) on December 18, 1975, in Davis, California. He was cremated, and his ashes were scattered in the Californian wilderness.
Evolution and God
Theodosius Dobzhansky believed that God
In monotheistic belief systems, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. In polytheistic belief systems, a god is "a spirit or being believed to have created, or for controlling some part of the un ...
and 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 ...
can be reconciled through the idea that the Creator brought about his plan through the processes of evolution. He described his beliefs as "Evolution is God's, or Nature's, method of Creation."
Publications
During his career, Dobzhansky published widely in books and peer-review
Peer review is the evaluation of work by one or more people with similar competencies as the producers of the work ( peers). It functions as a form of self-regulation by qualified members of a profession within the relevant field. Peer review ...
ed scientific journal
In academic publishing, a scientific journal is a periodical publication designed to further the progress of science by disseminating new research findings to the scientific community. These journals serve as a platform for researchers, schola ...
s:
Books
* Sinnott, E.W., Dunn, L.C and Dobzhansky, Th. 1925. ''Principles of Genetics''. McGraw-Hill. (5 editions: 1925, 1932, 1939, 1950, 1958; Dobzhansky co-editor only on 1950 & 1958 editions).
* Dobzhansky, Th. 1937. ''Genetics and the Origin of Species
''Genetics and the Origin of Species'' is a 1937 book by the Ukrainian-American evolutionary biologist Theodosius Dobzhansky. It is regarded as one of the most important works of Modern synthesis (20th century), modern synthesis and was one of the ...
''. Columbia University Press, New York. (2nd ed., 1941; 3rd ed., 1951)
* ''The Biological Basis of Human Freedom'' (1954).
* Dunn, L. C., & Dobzhansky, Th. 1946. ''Heredity, Race, and Society''. The New American Library of World Literature, Inc., New York.
* Dobzhansky, Th. 1955. ''Evolution, Genetics, & Man''. Wiley & Sons, New York.
*
* Dobzhansky, Th. 1966. ''Heredity and the Nature of Man''. Harcourt, Brace & World Inc., New York, New York.
* Dobzhansky, Th. 1967. ''The Biology of Ultimate Concern''. New American Library, New York.
* Dobzhansky, Th. 1970. ''Genetics of the Evolutionary Process''. Columbia University Press, New York.
* Dobzhansky, Th. 1973. ''Genetic Diversity and Human Equality''. Basic Books, New York.
* Dobzhansky, Th., F.J. Ayala, G.L. Stebbins & J.W. Valentine. 1977. ''Evolution''. W.H. Freeman, San Francisco.
* Dobzhansky, Th. 1981. ''Dobzhansky's Genetics of Natural Populations I-XLIII''. R.C. Lewontin, J.A. Moore, W.B. Provine & B. Wallace, eds. Columbia University Press, New York. (reprints the 43 papers in this series, all but two of which were authored or co-authored by Dobzhansky)
*
Papers
*
*
Recensions
* Dobzhansky, Th. Wrote a recension
Recension is the practice of editing or revising a text based on critical analysis. When referring to manuscripts, this may be a revision by another author. The term is derived from the Latin ("review, analysis").
In textual criticism (as is the ...
of "The origin of races" by the anthropologist Carleton S. Coon
Carleton Stevens Coon (June 23, 1904 – June 3, 1981) was an American anthropologist and professor at the University of Pennsylvania. He is best known for his scientific racist theories concerning the parallel evolution of human races, which ...
. Dobzhansky rejected Coon's theory of independent origin of identical mutations, but he did agree that selection favored a sapiens-like genotype in all proto-human populations, and expressed the theory that all sapiens-alleles existed at a low frequency in all erectus-populations, and that the statistical composition of the gene pool shifted from erectus to sapiens in multiple populations independently.
References
External links
Colloquium on ''Genetics and the Origin of Species''
with
biography
Theodosius Dobzhansky: A Man For All Seasons
by Francisco J. Ayala
Francisco José Ayala Pereda (March 12, 1934 – March 3, 2023) was a Spanish-American evolutionary biologist and philosopher who was a longtime faculty member at the University of California, Irvine, and University of California, Davis.
Ayal ...
The Theodosius Dobzhansky Papers
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 ...
National Academy of Sciences Biographical Memoir
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dobzhansky, Theodosius
1900 births
1975 deaths
People from Nemyriv
People from Bratslavsky Uyezd
American geneticists
Russian geneticists
American entomologists
Russian entomologists
Evolutionary biologists
Soviet emigrants to the United States
Modern synthesis (20th century)
National Medal of Science laureates
Columbia University alumni
Columbia University faculty
Critics of creationism
Critics of Lamarckism
Foreign members of the Royal Society
Rockefeller University faculty
Theistic evolutionists
20th-century Russian zoologists
Eastern Orthodox Christians from the Russian Empire
Eastern Orthodox Christians from the United States
Soviet entomologists
Soviet geneticists
Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
Members of the American Philosophical Society
20th-century American zoologists
Recipients of Franklin Medal
Presidents of the American Society of Naturalists
Writers about religion and science
American critics of atheism
Science activists
American Eugenics Society members