Gertrude L. Van Wagenen (1893 – February 8, 1978) was an American biologist. She was also a collector of anatomical illustrations and models.

Early life

Gertrude L. Van Wagenen was the daughter of Anthony Van Wagenen (1852–1937), a judge and lawyer in

Sioux City, Iowa Sioux City () is a city in Woodbury and Plymouth counties in the northwestern part of the U.S. state of Iowa. The population was 85,797 in the 2020 census, making it the fourth-largest city in Iowa. The bulk of the city is in Woodbury County ...

, and his wife Gertrude (''née'' Louis). She completed undergraduate studies at

Iowa State University Iowa State University of Science and Technology (Iowa State University, Iowa State, or ISU) is a public land-grant research university in Ames, Iowa. Founded in 1858 as the Iowa Agricultural College and Model Farm, Iowa State became one of the ...

in 1913, where she majored in zoology and was a member of the Beta Zeta chapter of the Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority. For a few years after graduating, she taught in Ottumwa, Iowa, and endured a case of scarlet fever, with the

quarantine A quarantine is a restriction on the movement of people, animals and goods which is intended to prevent the spread of disease or pests. It is often used in connection to disease and illness, preventing the movement of those who may have been ...

it required. In 1918, she collected

coral Corals are marine invertebrates within the class Anthozoa of the phylum Cnidaria. They typically form compact colonies of many identical individual polyps. Coral species include the important reef builders that inhabit tropical oceans and ...

s, anemones, and

medusae Jellyfish and sea jellies are the informal common names given to the medusa-phase of certain gelatinous members of the subphylum Medusozoa, a major part of the phylum Cnidaria. Jellyfish are mainly free-swimming marine animals with umbrella- ...

as part of the Barbados-Antigua Expedition, a group of

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized into 12 col ...

graduate students and faculty studying the natural history of those islands. Her doctoral dissertation at the University of Iowa was titled ''The Coral Mussa Fragilis and Its Development''.

Research

Van Wagenen was associate professor and lecturer at

Yale School of Medicine The Yale School of Medicine is the graduate medical school at Yale University, a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. It was founded in 1810 as the Medical Institution of Yale College and formally opened in 1813. The primary te ...

, where she did pioneering work in the field of reproductive

endocrinology Endocrinology (from '' endocrine'' + '' -ology'') is a branch of biology and medicine dealing with the endocrine system, its diseases, and its specific secretions known as hormones. It is also concerned with the integration of developmental event ...

. In 1935, she established an influential early breeding colony of rhesus monkeys in Yale's Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology. Over more than four decades, Gertrude van Wagenen amassed birth-to-death data on 1261 monkeys, including 600 live births, covering fifteen generations. She and gynecologist John McLean Morris are considered the "discoverers" of morning-after contraception, working first with

diethylstilbestrol Diethylstilbestrol (DES), also known as stilbestrol or stilboestrol, is a nonsteroidal estrogen medication, which is presently rarely used. In the past, it was widely used for a variety of indications, including pregnancy support for those with a ...

(DES) to prevent pregnancy. Van Wagenen and Morris reported their successes with monkeys and with women, respectively, at the 1966 annual meeting of the

American Fertility Society The American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) is a nonprofit, multidisciplinary organization for advancement of the science and practice of reproductive medicine. The society has its headquarters in Washington, D.C and its administrati ...

. Her monographs included ''Embryology of the Ovary and Testis in ''Homo sapiens'' and ''Macaca mulatta (Yale University Press 1965), and ''Postnatal Development of the Ovary in ''Homo sapiens'' and ''Macaca mulatta and ''Induction of Ovulation in the Macaque'' (Yale University Press 1973, co-authored with Miriam E. Simpson).

Personal life

Gertrude Van Wagenen married Crawford Fairbanks Failey, M.D. (1900–1981); her husband had inherited wealth, which allowed her to travel. In addition to her research, Van Wagenen enjoyed traveling and collecting

medical illustration A medical illustration is a form of biological illustration that helps to record and disseminate medical, anatomical, and related knowledge. History Medical illustrations have been made possibly since the beginning of medicine in any case for hu ...

s and objects, including engravings, textbooks, models, and

mannequin A mannequin (also called a dummy, lay figure, or dress form) is a doll, often articulated, used by artists, tailors, dressmakers, window dressers and others, especially to display or fit clothing and show off different fabrics and textiles. P ...

s. She was also interested in art and cultural depictions of monkeys. On a trip to Japan in 1957, she found a book, Junichiro Itani's ''Japanese Monkeys in Takasakiyama'' (1954). She sent it to a colleague, who in turn arranged for it to be translated and published in English. Van Wagenen died on February 8, 1978. Her collections were left to the Medical History Library at Yale.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Van Wagenen, Gertrude 1893 births 1978 deaths American endocrinologists Women endocrinologists Iowa State University alumni People from Sioux City, Iowa University of Iowa alumni Yale School of Medicine faculty