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Bateson, William, 1861-1926 (biologist)

 Person

Biography

William Bateson (1861-1926), biologist, was the son of William Henry Bateson and brother of the historian Mary Bateson. He was educated at Rugby and St John's College, Cambridge, where he was also a Fellow from 1885 to 1910. Bateson studied embryology and in 1894 published Materials for the study of variation, in which he argued that discontinuous variation was the main source of evolutionary changes. In 1900 he discovered Gregor Mendel's 'Versuche über Pflanzen-Hybriden'. Over the next four years he championed Mendel's findings and put forward his own argument for a new doctrine of heredity. This led to the publication of Mendel's principles of heredity - a defence in 1902. Bateson termed his study of heredity and variation 'genetics'. In 1908 he became professor of biology at Cambridge, before becoming director of the John Innes Horticultural Institution, Merton, where he worked from 1910 to 1926. He married Beatrice, daughter of Arthur Durham, senior surgeon at Guy's Hospital, in 1896.

Found in 2 Collections and/or Records:

 Fonds

Charles Chamberlain Hurst: Correspondence and Papers

 Fonds
Reference Code: GBR/0012/MS Add.7955
Scope and Contents

Letters and papers of C.C. Hurst, with annotations made by his wife Rona, who also compiled lists of files and summaries of the correspondence (section A), and used Hurst's letters to write a book, The Evolution of Genetics (section 23).

Dates: 1895-1977
Conditions Governing Access: Unless restrictions apply, the collection is open for consultation by researchers using the Manuscripts Reading Room at Cambridge University Library. For further details on conditions governing access please contact mss@lib.cam.ac.uk. Information about opening hours and obtaining a Cambridge University Library reader's ticket is available from the Library's website (www.lib.cam.ac.uk).
 Fonds

William Bateson: Scientific Correspondence and Papers

 Fonds
Reference Code: GBR/0012/MS Add.8634
Scope and Contents

Includes correspondence, field notebooks, material relating to Bateson's career, lecture notes, material relating to the University of Cambridge, papers documenting various scientific debates, draft publications, lectures, material relating to societies and organisations and photographs.

Dates: 1859-1935 (Circa)
Conditions Governing Access: Unless restrictions apply, the collection is open for consultation by researchers using the Manuscripts Reading Room at Cambridge University Library. For further details on conditions governing access please contact mss@lib.cam.ac.uk. Information about opening hours and obtaining a Cambridge University Library reader's ticket is available from the Library's website (www.lib.cam.ac.uk).

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  • Subject: Genetics X

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