, Albert Francis Blakeslee (Blakeslee, Albert Francis)

(1874-1954)
Born November 9, 1874 in Dzhenezeo (pc. New York). In 1896, received a bachelor's degree from Wesleyan University in 1904 - a Ph.D. from Harvard University. For some time he worked in Germany, then returned to Harvard. In 1899-1907 he worked at Harvard University in 1907-1914 served as Professor of Botany and Genetics, Connecticut Agricultural College (now University of Connecticut). Studied the genetics of higher plants and wrote a widely publicized book, Trees in winter (Trees in Winter). In 1915-1941 he worked at the station during the experimental evolution of the Carnegie Institution in Cold Spring Harbor (pc. New York) (in 1936-1941 - director of the Institute). In 1943-1949 was director of the Smithsonian's College in Northampton, where he founded the station of Experimental Genetics.
The main work Blakeslee devoted to the study of mutants. In 1904, Blakeslee discovered the phenomenon in fungi heterothallic (dioecious, expressed in the physiological and genetic differences between the sexes without morphological differences in male and female). For the first time applied the method of the impact of colchicine on mitosis in plant cell to obtain polyploids (1937). To study the genetic balance in the chromosome mutants using a new object - a narcotic plant. Studying the process of mutations on this plant, showed that many mutations are to add an extra chromosome in one pair of normal chromosomes. Blakeslee died in Northampton (pc. Massachusetts), November 16, 1954.