Theodosius Dobzhansky and the Origins of Western Population Genetics

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Theodosius Dobzhansky (1900-1975) was one of the leading biologists of the 20th century: a key figure in the evolutionary synthesis of the 1930s and author of its first modern statement (Genetics and the Origin of Species, 1937), he was the founder of modern Western population genetics, the teacher of a large international school, and author of many influential popular books on scientific and social topics. Although historians of biology are focussing increasing attention on his legacy, this ongoing evaluation has been greatly hampered by a lack of information about his formative years. Dobzhansky left Russia for New York in 1927 to work with American geneticist T. H. Morgan, and never returned. Thanks to recent developments in Russia, it has now become possible, using newly discovered archival materials, to analyze the formative years of Dobzhansky's career. Under this grant, Dr. Adams is beginning to survey these archives in preparation for a study of Dobzhansky's formative years, 1900-1937. Working with young Russian investigators who have been collecting the pertinent materials, Dr. Adams is seeking to clarify the influence of the Kiev school of cytogenetics on Dobzhansky's chromosomal work (1914- 1924); the views of his Petersburg mentor, Filipchenko, on his approach to micro- and macroevolution, and his social views (1924- 1927); the influence of Russian entomological traditions on his approach to populations, species, and field practice; his gradual assimilation of the conventions and practices of the Morgan laboratory; and the influence of his Russian background on the writing of his evolutionary classic. With support from this grant, Dr. Adams and colleagues are beginning to mine the newly opened Russian archives. This grant provides travel assistance to the PI as well as instrumentation necessary for his Russian collaborators to provide him with the needed documentation. As a result, sources for the origin of modern population biology will be made available for study in the US.