William King Gregory
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William King Gregory | |
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Born | |
Died | December 29, 1970 | (aged 94)
Education | Columbia University |
Known for | Expert on mammalian dentition |
Spouses |
|
Awards | National Academy of Sciences |
Scientific career | |
Fields | Zoology |
Institutions | American Museum of Natural History, Columbia University |
Thesis | The Orders of Mammals (1910) |
Doctoral advisor | Henry Fairfield Osborn |
Doctoral students | |
Author abbrev. (zoology) | Gregory |
William King Gregory (May 19, 1876 – December 29, 1970) was an American
Early life
He was born in Greenwich Village, New York, on May 19, 1876 to George Gregory and Jane King Gregory. He attended Trinity School and then moved onto Columbia University in 1895, initially at the School of Mines but then transferring to Columbia College. He majored in zoology and vertebrate paleontology under Henry Fairfield Osborn. While still an undergraduate he became Osborn's research assistant and soon after married Laura Grace Foote. He received his undergraduate degree from Columbia in 1900, followed by a masters in 1905, and a doctorate in 1910.
Academic career
He developed an early interest in both
Although his work was wide-ranging the overriding focus was on comparative anatomy. His studies often had particular significance in the field of evolution; he believed the anatomical structures of
He developed the principle of habitus and heritage – theorizing that animals evolved with two sets of characteristics: the heritage features which derived from a long evolutionary history and the habitus characteristics which were adaptations to the environment in which the species existed. He later expanded this to his palimpsest theory which proposed that the habitus features often overlaid and obscured the heritage features. A similar theory, mosaic evolution, has appeared since King Gregory's death.
He studied
Gregory was elected to the America Philosophical Society in 1925 and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1931.[2][3]
Later life
He retired from the American Museum of Natural History in 1944 and from Columbia in 1945, and moved permanently to his house in
Notes
- ^ William King Gregory (1914). "The Dawn Man of Piltdown, England". American Museum Journal. American Museum of Natural History.
- ^ "APS Member History". search.amphilsoc.org. Retrieved 2023-08-15.
- ^ "William King Gregory". American Academy of Arts & Sciences. 2023-02-09. Retrieved 2023-08-15.
References
- Edwin H. Colbert (1975). "William King Gregory". Biographical Memoirs V.46. National Academy of Sciences (NAS). pp. 97–106. OCLC 10538770.