Edgar Anderson

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
For the United States Air Force general, see
Edgar R. Anderson, Jr.
Edgar Shannon Anderson
Born(1897-11-09)November 9, 1897
John Innes Horticultural Institute, Arnold Arboretum
Doctoral advisorEdward Murray East
Author abbrev. (botany)E.S.Anderson

Edgar Shannon Anderson (November 9, 1897 – June 18, 1969) was an American

introgressive hybridization[3] and his 1949 book of that title was an original and important contribution to botanical genetics.[4] His work on the transfer and origin of adaptations through natural hybridization continues to be relevant.[5][6]

Anderson was elected a Fellow of the

Linnean Society in 1958.[12]

Early life and education

Anderson was born in Forestville, New York.[13] When he was three, his family moved to East Lansing, Michigan where his father had accepted a position to teach dairy husbandry. [14][15]

In 1914 Anderson entered

self-incompatibility in Nicotiana.[3] He was awarded a master's degree in 1920 and a DSc in agricultural genetics in 1922.[14]

Career

Iris versicolor
Iris virginica

Anderson accepted a position as a geneticist at the Missouri Botanical Garden in 1922. He was appointed assistant professor of botany at Washington University in St. Louis. His research was focused on developing techniques to quantify geographic variation in Iris versicolor. Anderson determined the existence of a second species, Iris virginica.[3]

In 1929 Anderson received a fellowship to undertake studies at the

R. A. Fisher, and geneticist J. B. S. Haldane. Anderson's data set on three related species of irises was used by Fisher as an example with which to demonstrate statistical methods of classification and has subsequently become very well known in the machine learning community, though often described as Fisher's iris data.[16][17]

Scatterplot
of the Iris flower data set

Anderson returned to the United States in 1931 and took a position at the

Washington University
. Between 1934 and 1938 he worked predominantly on
introgressive hybridization.[3]

Zea mays

In 1941 Anderson was invited to present the

Zea mays[3][18] emphasizing the need to study both wild and cultivated plants.[19]

Anderson published Introgressive Hybridization in 1949, describing gene transfer between hybridizing forms,[5] and the role of introgression in speciation.[20] He also wrote the popular science book Plants, Man, and Life (1952), described by one reviewer as "a book every botanist and anthropologist should read".[21] Anderson was briefly director of the Missouri Gardens in 1954, but returned to teaching in 1957. He retired officially in 1967.[14]

Anderson was a close colleague and friend of Esther Lederberg.[22] They frequented the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory symposia.[23] Anderson was a close friend of many other colleagues, such as J. B. S. Haldane[5] and G. Ledyard Stebbins.[24]

The standard author abbreviation E.S.Anderson is used to indicate this person as the author when citing a botanical name.[25]

References

  1. doi:10.1093/anb/9780198606697.article.1302046
    . Retrieved 15 February 2022.
  2. ISBN 978-0-226-45010-0
    .
  3. ^
    S2CID 126829834
    . Retrieved 15 February 2022.
  4. ^ Stebbins, G. L. (1978). "Edgar Anderson". National Academy of Sciences: Biographical Memoirs (PDF). Vol. 49. National Academy of Sciences. pp. 3–23.
  5. ^
    PMID 15004269
    .
  6. S2CID 238203436
    . Retrieved 16 February 2022.
  7. ^ "Book of Members, 1780-2010: Chapter A" (PDF). American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Retrieved 18 April 2011.
  8. ^ "Anderson, Edgar". National Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 18 April 2011.
  9. ^ "BSA Presidents". Botanical Society of America. Retrieved 16 February 2022.
  10. S2CID 9737192
    . Retrieved 16 February 2022.
  11. ^ "Who We Are". St. Louis Herb Society. Retrieved 16 February 2022.
  12. ISBN 978-0-429-63370-6
    . Retrieved 16 February 2022.
  13. JSTOR 2395147
    .
  14. ^
    JSTOR 2399980
    . Retrieved 15 February 2022.
  15. JSTOR 2395146
    . Retrieved 16 February 2022.
  16. ISSN 1040-2519
    . Retrieved 15 February 2022.
  17. PMID 11148308
    . Retrieved 16 February 2022.
  18. JSTOR 27757425
    . Retrieved 15 February 2022.
  19. ISSN 0066-4162
    . Retrieved 16 February 2022.
  20. S2CID 45038936
    .
  21. ISSN 0002-7294
    . Retrieved 16 February 2022.
  22. ^ "Edgar S. Anderson". Esther Lederberg. Retrieved 16 February 2022.
  23. ^ "Anderson, Edgar". Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Archives. Retrieved 16 February 2022.
  24. PMID 11700300
    . Retrieved 16 February 2022.
  25. ^ International Plant Names Index.  E.S.Anderson.

Further reading

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