Charles Manning Child (February 2, 1869 – December 19, 1954) was an American zoologist noted for his work on regeneration at the University of Chicago.

Early life

Child was born on February 2, 1869, in Ypsilanti, Michigan, to Charles Chauncy Child and Mary Elizabeth (née Manning) Child. He was the only surviving child to the couple. Growing up on a family farm in Higganum, Connecticut, Child enjoyed reading. After graduating from elementary school in 1882, Child attended Middletown High School in

Middletown, Connecticut Middletown is a city located in Middlesex County, Connecticut, United States, Located along the Connecticut River, in the central part of the state, it is south of Hartford, Connecticut, Hartford. In 1650, it was incorporated by English settler ...

, until his graduation in 1886.

Career

Child was accepted to Wesleyan University in Middletown. In 1890 he graduated Wesleyan with a Bachelor of Philosophy and in 1892 he received a Master of Science degree from the same university, having served as a graduate assistant in biology at Wesleyan from 1890 to 1892. Working under Rudolf Leuckart at the University of Leipzig, Child graduated with a Doctor of Philosophy in 1894. Upon returning to the United States, he met Lydia Van Meter in 1895, and the couple married in 1899; they had one daughter, Jeannette Manning Child. He spent the majority of his academic career (1895–1934) at the University of Chicago, where he conducted research on

regeneration Regeneration may refer to: Science and technology * Regeneration (biology), the ability to recreate lost or damaged cells, tissues, organs and limbs * Regeneration (ecology), the ability of ecosystems to regenerate biomass, using photosynthesis ...

, especially on

Coelenterates Coelenterata is a term encompassing the animal phyla Cnidaria (coral animals, true jellies, sea anemones, sea pens, and their relatives) and Ctenophora (comb jellies). The name comes , referring to the hollow body cavity common to these two phyl ...

and flatworms. In 1915, Child published ''Individuality in Organisms'', which dealt primarily with "the problem of the nature, of the unity, and order in the organism", according to an American Social Hygiene Association review. He became a professor a year later, a position he held until his retirement in 1937. Wesleyan awarded Child the honorary D.D. degree in 1928 and also began a two-year stint as the first (Managing) Editor of the scientific journal

Physiological and Biochemical Zoology ''Physiological and Biochemical Zoology'' is a peer-reviewed scientific journal published by the University of Chicago Press on behalf of the Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology. Traditionally, it has covered research on the biochemistr ...

. He became a member of the

National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the Nati ...

in 1935. After retiring, Child and his wife moved to Palo Alto, California, in 1939, where he lectured at

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

. In 1941 Child published ''Patterns and Problems of Development'', which summarized his life work. After having multiple surgeries due to cancer, Child died on December 19, 1954, in Palo Alto; he was cremated, and the ashes were sent to the Van Meter plot in Green Mount Cemetery,

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 30th most populous city in the United States with a population of 585,708 in 2020. Baltimore was ...

. Writing for the

in 1957, zoologist Libbie Hyman called Child's devotion to science "of the purest sort" and "unmarred by personal ambition or striving for fame and position."

References

External links

National Academy of Sciences Biographical Memoir
{{DEFAULTSORT:Child, Charles Manning 1869 births 1954 deaths American zoologists People from Ypsilanti, Michigan Deaths from cancer in California Wesleyan University alumni Stanford University faculty Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences