- Calvin Bridges
Calvin Blackman Bridges (
January 11 1889 -December 27 1938 ) was an American scientist, known for his contributions to the field ofgenetics . Along withAlfred Sturtevant andH.J. Muller , Bridges was part of the famous fly room ofThomas Hunt Morgan atColumbia University .Infobox Scientist
name = Calvin Blackman Bridges
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caption = Calvin Blackman Bridges
birth_date =January 11 1889
birth_place =Schuyler Falls
death_date =December 27 1938
death_place =Los Angeles
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nationality = American
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field =genetics
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known_for =Heredity ,polytene chromosome
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Bridges wrote a masterful Ph.D. thesis on "Non-disjunction as proof of thechromosome theory of heredity." It appeared as the first paper in the first issue of the journal "Genetics" in 1916.His work with sex linked traits in the fruit fly "
Drosophila melanogaster " suggested thatchromosome s containedgene s. LaterNettie Maria Stephens was able to prove this hypothesis by examining the chromosomes of the fruit flies. Bridges wrote a couple of papers presenting the proof. He thanked her as "Miss Stevens" without stating what her contribution was nor referring to her PhD.Bridges' best-known contribution among Drosophila researchers is his observation and documentation of the
polytene chromosome s found in larval salivary gland cells. The banding patterns of these chromosomes are still used as genetic landmarks by contemporary researchers.Character & Death
Bridges was born on
January 11 1889 inSchuyler Falls ,New York . He died onDecember 27 1938 inLos Angeles ,California .Bridges was a good-looking and sexually active man. Kohler says "he was famous for his flamboyant lifestyle; he left his wife and children in the mid-20s (but continued to support them), got a batchelor pad and a vasectomy; propositioned every woman he met, indiscriminately... his extraordinary good looks and innocence were irresistible" (Kohler 1994 p113).
His early death has been attributed to a
heart attack , and tosyphilis ; on this subject Allen says "Bridges had a serious heart attack on December 6, 1938, and died three weeks later on the 27th... Post-mortem showed that the valves of the heart had become infected and were gradually breaking up" (Allen 1978 p380). It is possible, then, that both stories are true, since syphilis becomes generally invasive in its tertiary stage. The symptoms of tertiary syphilis are diverse; the disease often attacks the aorta rather than the valves of the heart. There are no reports of Bridges suffering neurological problems, though much may have been suppressed by his friends and colleagues. The verdict is open.Further reading
*Allen, Garfield E. "Thomas Hunt Morgan: the man and his science". Princeton University Press 1978
*E.A. Carlson, "Mendel's Legacy: The Origin of Classical Genetics", (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, 2004). ISBN 0-87969-675-3
*E.A. Carlson, "The Gene: A Critical History", (Iowa State Press, 1989). ISBN 0-8138-1406-5
*Kohler, Robert E. "Lords of the fly: Drosophila genetics and the experimental life". University of Chicago Press 1994.
*A. H. Sturtevant, "A History of Genetics", (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press,2001). ISBN 0-87969-607-9
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