Fernandus Payne (February 13, 1881 – October 13, 1977) was an American zoologist, geneticist and educator. Panye was born in

Shelbyville, Indiana Shelbyville is a city in Addison Township, Shelby County, in the U.S. state of Indiana and is the county seat. The population was 20,067 as of the 2020 census. History In 1818, the land that would become Shelbyville was ceded to the Un ...

. He received a B.Sc. from

Valparaiso University Valparaiso University (Valpo) is a private university in Valparaiso, Indiana. It is a Lutheran university with about 3,000 students from over 50 countries on a campus of . Originally named Valparaiso Male and Female College, Valparaiso Universit ...

in 1901 and a B.A. from

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. Campuses Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI. *Indiana Universit ...

in 1905, and a M.A. in 1906. He undertook graduate studies at

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

with

Thomas Hunt Morgan Thomas Hunt Morgan (September 25, 1866 – December 4, 1945) was an American evolutionary biologist, geneticist, embryologist, and science author who won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1933 for discoveries elucidating the role tha ...

, his research took place when the use of fruit fly ''

Drosophila melanogaster ''Drosophila melanogaster'' is a species of fly (the taxonomic order Diptera) in the family Drosophilidae. The species is often referred to as the fruit fly or lesser fruit fly, or less commonly the "vinegar fly" or "pomace fly". Starting with Ch ...

'' was being established in Morgan's lab. One of Payne's projects was to breed flies in the dark, if a generation of blind flies was produced then a model of

Lamarckism Lamarckism, also known as Lamarckian inheritance or neo-Lamarckism, is the notion that an organism can pass on to its offspring physical characteristics that the parent organism acquired through use or disuse during its lifetime. It is also calle ...

would be confirmed. After producing 69 generation of flies grown in the dark Payne failed to produce a blind fly. Payne also helped Morgan produce

X-ray An X-ray, or, much less commonly, X-radiation, is a penetrating form of high-energy electromagnetic radiation. Most X-rays have a wavelength ranging from 10 picometers to 10 nanometers, corresponding to frequencies in the range 30&nb ...

mutagenised flies, these were used for many years to come in Morgans lab. Payne completed his PhD in 1909. Payne returned to

where he was made associate professor. He remained at the University for the remainder of his career, he was credited with introducing genetics to the University and attracting other researchers to IU like

Hermann Joseph Muller Hermann Joseph Muller (December 21, 1890 – April 5, 1967) was an American geneticist, educator, and Nobel laureate best known for his work on the physiological and genetic effects of radiation (mutagenesis), as well as his outspoken political ...

and

Salvatore Luria Salvador Edward Luria (August 13, 1912 – February 6, 1991) was an Italian microbiologist, later a naturalized U.S. citizen. He won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1969, with Max Delbrück and Alfred Hershey, for their discoverie ...

who both became Nobel laureates. Asteroid 2496 Fernandus, discovered October 8, 1953 by the

Indiana Asteroid Program The Indiana Asteroid Program was a photographic astronomical survey of asteroids during 1949–1967, at the U.S. Goethe Link Observatory near Brooklyn, Indiana. The program was initiated by Frank K. Edmondson of Indiana University using a 10-inc ...

, is named for him. He also served on the board of trustees for Science Service, now known as

Society for Science & the Public Society for Science, formerly known as Science Service and later Society for Science and the Public, is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to the promotion of science, through its science education programs and publications, including ...

, from 1953-1954.

References

*Shine, I. and Wrobel, S. 1976. ''Thomas Hunt Morgan: Pioneer of Genetics''. The University Press of Kentucky *Indiana University Archives
Guide to the Fernandus Payne papers, 1908-1971

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Payne, Fernandus 1881 births 1977 deaths 20th-century American zoologists Valparaiso University alumni Indiana University alumni Indiana University faculty People from Shelbyville, Indiana