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Reginald Ruggles Gates

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Reginald Ruggles Gates
Born(1882-05-01)May 1, 1882
DiedAugust 12, 1962(1962-08-12) (aged 80)
Alma materMcGill University
Spouse(s)Marie Stopes (1911-1914, annulled)
Jennie Williams (1929, dissolved)
Laura Greer (1955-)[4]
AwardsFellow of the Royal Society[1]
Scientific career
FieldsSpermatophytes, Oenothera[2]
Author abbrev. (botany)

Reginald Ruggles Gates (May 1, 1882 – August 12, 1962), was a Canadian born anthropologist, botanist, and geneticist. He did most of his work in the United Kingdom and the United States.

Early life

Reginald Ruggles Gates was born on May 1, 1882 near Middleton, Nova Scotia. He had a twin sister named Charlotte.[1]

Gates received his Bachelor of Science from McGill University with further education in Chicago and London.

Career

Gates did botanical work in Missouri in 1910. Later, he was a Professor of Biology at King's College London.[5] He was known for his studies of Oenothera and other plants.[6]

Gates was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1931.[2][1] His nomination reads

Professor Gates enjoys a widespread reputation as a distinguished investigator of cytological problems and especially in connection with genetics. He has thrown much light on the behaviour of Olnothera, which formed the basis of De Vries well-known theory of mutations. He has trained a number of cytological students, some of whom now fill posts of importance. He is the author of over 100 papers and memoirs, some of which have been published by the Royal Society. Latterly he has paid attention to genetical anthropology and is the author of several books on this subject.[7]

Additionally, Gates was a eugenicist. In 1923, he wrote Heredity and Eugenics. He maintained his ideas on race and eugenics long after World War II, into the era when these were deemed anachronistic.[8] He was a founder of Mankind Quarterly and the International Association for the Advancement of Ethnology and Eugenics.[5] He was a strong opponent of interracial marriage and, according to A.S. Winston, "argued that races were separate species."[5]

Personal life

In 1911, Gates married Marie Stopes, but the marriage was annulled in 1914. In 1955, he married Laura Greer.

Death and legacy

Gates died on August 12, 1962. He is memorialized by the Ruggles Gates Award at Mount Allison University.[9][10]

Publications

Illustration from Heredity in Man
  • Heredity in Man. (1929). Constable & Company.
  • A botanist in the Amazon Valley. (1927). H. F. & G. Witherby.
  • Human Genetics. (1946). The Macmillan company (2 volumes).
  • "Racial elements in the aborigines of Queensland, Australia". (Jan. 1960). Zeitschrift für Morphologie und Anthropologie. Bd. 50. H. 2. pp. 150–166.

References

  1. ^ a b c Roberts, J. A. F. (1964). "Reginald Ruggles Gates 1882-1962". Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society. 10: 83–26. doi:10.1098/rsbm.1964.0006.
  2. ^ a b Alan R. Rushton (2004). "Gates, Reginald Ruggles (1882–1962)". The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/33355.
  3. ^ International Plant Names Index.  R.R.Gates.
  4. ^ "Reginald Ruggles Gates (1882-1962): botanist, cytologist and anthropologist. FRS 1931". John Innes Centre. John Innes Centre. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
  5. ^ a b c Winston, Andrew S. (Spring 1998). "Science in the service of the far right: Henry E. Garrett, the IAAEE, and the Liberty Lobby - International Association for the Advancement of Ethnology - Experts in the Service of Social Reform: SPSSI, Psychology, and Society, 1936-1996". Journal of Social Issues. 54: 179–210. doi:10.1111/j.1540-4560.1998.tb01212.x.
  6. ^ Mendel's Legacy: The Origin of Classical Genetics By Elof Axel Carlson, pg 128
  7. ^ "Library and Archive Catalogue, Reginald Ruggles Gates". London: The Royal Society. Archived from the original on 2013-12-23.
  8. ^ The Retreat of Scientific Racism By Elazar Barkan 168-175
  9. ^ The Ruggles Gates Award
  10. ^ The Ruggles Gates Chair In Biology