George Harrison Shull (April 15, 1874 – September 28, 1954) was an American plant geneticist[1] and the younger brother of botanical illustrator and plant breeder J. Marion Shull. He was born on a farm in Clark County, Ohio, graduated from Antioch College in 1901 and from the University of Chicago (Ph.D.) in 1904, served as botanical expert to the Bureau of Plant Industry in 1903–04, and thenceforth was a botanical investigator of the Carnegie Institution at the Station for Experimental Evolution, Cold Spring Harbor, N. Y., giving special attention to the results of Luther Burbank's work.
George Harrison Shull | |
|---|---|
| Born | April 15, 1874 |
| Died | 28 September 1954 (aged 80) |
| Alma mater | University of Chicago |
| Awards | Public Welfare Medal (1948) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | genetics |
| Author abbrev. (botany) | Shull |
Shull played an important role in the development of hybrid maize (in the USA, popularly 'corn') which had great impact upon global agriculture. As a geneticist, Shull worked with maize plants. He was interested in pure breeds not for their economic value but for his experiments in genetics. He produced maize breeds that bred true and then crossed these strains. The hybrid offspring of the sickly pure breeds were vigorous and predictable.
In short, an ideal economic maize resulted from a project motivated purely to advance science.[2] For his work on maize, Shull was awarded the Public Welfare Medal from the National Academy of Sciences in 1948.[3] He was also elected a member of the American Philosophical Society.[4]
He also described heterosis in maize in 1908 (the term heterosis was coined by Shull in 1914) and made a number of other key discoveries in the emerging field of genetics. Shull was the founder of the scientific journal Genetics.
He was called George in distinction from his son Harrison Shull (1923–2003), also a distinguished scientist, specializing in the quantum mechanics of small-molecule electronic spectra.[5]
Work with Luther Burbank
editShull worked with Luther Burbank from 1906 to 1914 in an attempt to publish Burbank's plant work on the behalf of the Carnegie Institution. Ultimately unable to get Burbank's full cooperation, and finding that in the Luther Burbank Press's 1914 publication Luther Burbank: His Methods and Discoveries, Their Practical Application "considerable sections are almost word for word the same as my ... manuscript," Shull never published his work.[6]
Personal life
editShull married Ella Amanda Hollar in July 1906. A daughter, Elizabeth Ellen, born May 8, 1907, did not survive her birth. Ella died two weeks later.[7] All are buried in Santa Rosa, California, in the Odd Fellows Lawn Cemetery. Shull married Mary Julia Nicholl on August 26, 1909.[8] He and his second wife had six children (John Shull, Georgia Shull Vandersloot, Frederick Shull, David Shull, Barbara Shull Miller, and Harrison Shull.)
Death
editShull died in Princeton on September 28, 1954. His cremains were buried in Santa Rosa, California where his first wife was buried. His second wife's remains were also buried there twelve years later.[9][10]
References
edit- ^ "SHULL, George Harrison". The International Who's Who in the World. 1912. p. 953.
- ^ Nelson, Richard R. (April 1959). "The Economics of Invention: A Survey of Literature". The Journal of Business. 32 (2). Chicago: The University of Chicago Press: 101–127. doi:10.1086/294247.
- ^ "Public Welfare Award". National Academy of Sciences. Archived from the original on 4 June 2011. Retrieved 14 February 2011.
- ^ "APS Member History". search.amphilsoc.org. Retrieved 2023-10-05.
- ^ McClure, Donald; Kasha, Michael (2006). Harrison Shull. Biographical Memoirs. Vol. 87. National Academy of Sciences Press. pp. 332–398. doi:10.17226/11522. ISBN 978-0-309-09579-2.
- ^ Dreyer, Peter (1985). A Gardner Touched with Genius, The Life of Luther Burbank. University of California Press. pp. 143–197.
- ^ Dreyer, Peter (1985). A Gardner Touched with Genius, The Life of Luther Burbank. University of California Press. p. 143.
- ^ Dreyer, Peter (1985). A Gardner Touched with Genius, The Life of Luther Burbank. University of California Press. p. 179.
- ^ Dreyer, Peter (1985). A Gardner Touched with Genius, The Life of Luther Burbank. University of California Press. p. 197.
- ^ Santa Rosa Memorial Park map Lot #52
- ^ International Plant Names Index. Shull.
- Shull, GH (1907). "THE SIGNIFICANCE OF LATENT CHARACTERS". Science. Vol. 25, no. 646 (published May 17, 1907). pp. 792–794. doi:10.1126/science.25.646.792. PMID 17810906.
- Shull, GH (1907). "SOME LATENT CHARACTERS OF A WHITE BEAN". Science. Vol. 25, no. 647 (published May 24, 1907). pp. 828–832. doi:10.1126/science.25.647.828-b. PMID 17828973.
- Shull, GH (1946). "Hybrid Seed Corn". Science. Vol. 103, no. 2679 (published May 3, 1946). pp. 547–550. doi:10.1126/science.103.2679.547. PMID 17800109.
- Smocovitis, V.B. Shull, George Harrison. American National Biography Online. 2000
- Nina Fedoroff and Nancy Marie Brown. Mendel in the Kitchen. Joseph Henry Press, Washington, D.C. 2004, pages 57–62.
A reference to George H. Shull's discovery of the process of heterosis is in the movie "High Time" starring Bing Crosby about a wealthy man going back to college to get his bachelor's degree. When quizzing with a younger fraternity brother, Crosby's character asks "Who discovered the process of heterosis?" to which the young student answers "George W. (pause), NO, George H. Shull"
External links
edit- Biographical Memoir of Harrison Shull, George's son
Media related to George Harrison Shull at Wikimedia Commons
