Calvin Bridges

Calvin Blackman Bridges (January 11 1889 - December 27 1938) was an American scientist, known for his contributions to the field of genetics. Along with Alfred Sturtevant and H.J. Muller, Bridges was part of the famous fly room of Thomas Hunt Morgan at Columbia University.

Bridges wrote a masterful Ph.D. thesis on "Non-disjunction as proof of the chromosome theory of heredity." It appeared as the first paper in the first issue of the journal Genetics in 1916.

His work with sex linked traits in the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster suggested that chromosomes contained genes. Later Nettie Maria Stephens was able to prove this hypothesis by examining the chromosomes of the fruit flies. Bridges wrote a couple of papers presenting the proof. He thanked her as "Miss Stevens" without stating what her contribution was nor referring to her PhD.

Bridges' best-known contribution among Drosophila researchers is his observation and documentation of the polytene chromosomes found in larval salivary gland cells. The banding patterns of these chromosomes are still used as genetic landmarks by contemporary researchers.

Bridges was born on January 11 1889 in Schuyler Falls, New York. He died on December 27 1938 in Los Angeles, California. Reports differ as to whether this was due to syphilis, or to heart failure as a complication of a heart valve infection.

Further reading

• A. H. Sturtevant, A History of Genetics, (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press,2001). ISBN 0-87969-607-9
• E.A. Carlson, Mendel's Legacy: The Origin of Classical Genetics, (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, 2004). ISBN 0-87969-675-3
• E.A. Carlson, The Gene: A Critical History, (Iowa State Press, 1989). ISBN 0-8138-1406-5