John Buettner-Janusch (December 7, 1924 – July 2, 1992), often called "B-J", was an American

physical anthropologist Biological anthropology, also known as physical anthropology, is a scientific discipline concerned with the biological and behavioral aspects of human beings, their extinct hominin ancestors, and related non-human primates, particularly from an e ...

who pioneered the application of

molecular evolution Molecular evolution is the process of change in the sequence composition of cellular molecules such as DNA, RNA, and proteins across generations. The field of molecular evolution uses principles of evolutionary biology and population genetics ...

methods, such as

protein sequence Protein primary structure is the linear sequence of amino acids in a peptide or protein. By convention, the primary structure of a protein is reported starting from the amino-terminal (N) end to the carboxyl-terminal (C) end. Protein biosynthesi ...

comparison, to the field of primate evolution. He served as chairman of the

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...

anthropology department before 1980, when he was sent to prison for turning his laboratory into a drug manufacturing operation. After his release, he attempted to poison the judge who presided over his first trial and was sent to prison a second time. Buettner-Janusch was born in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

and spent his childhood in

Eagle River, Wisconsin Eagle River is a city in Vilas County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 1,398 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Vilas County. Because of the many lakes in the area, the city is a popular vacation and retirement destinatio ...

. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

he was briefly imprisoned as a

conscientious objector A conscientious objector (often shortened to conchie) is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of thought, conscience, or religion. The term has also been extended to object ...

. He earned a

B.S. A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University ...

in 1949 and an

M.A. A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

in 1953, both from the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...

, before pursuing doctoral work at the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

, working with Frederick Thieme, James Spuhler, and William Schull. He completed his Ph.D. in 1957 and the following year joined the

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

anthropology department. In 1963, he published a study of

genetic variation Genetic variation is the difference in DNA among individuals or the differences between populations. The multiple sources of genetic variation include mutation and genetic recombination. Mutations are the ultimate sources of genetic variation, ...

in the Kenyan baboon (''

Papio anubis The olive baboon (''Papio anubis''), also called the Anubis baboon, is a member of the family Cercopithecidae Old World monkeys. The species is the most wide-ranging of all baboons, being native to 25 countries throughout Africa, extending fro ...

'') based on

protein electrophoresis Protein electrophoresis is a method for analysing the proteins in a fluid or an extract. The electrophoresis may be performed with a small volume of sample in a number of alternative ways with or without a supporting medium: SDS polyacrylamide gel ...

; along with John Lee Hubby, who worked with ''

Drosophila ''Drosophila'' () is a genus of flies, belonging to the family Drosophilidae, whose members are often called "small fruit flies" or (less frequently) pomace flies, vinegar flies, or wine flies, a reference to the characteristic of many species ...

'', Buettner-Janusch was one of the first to apply electrophoresis to

population genetics Population genetics is a subfield of genetics that deals with genetic differences within and between populations, and is a part of evolutionary biology. Studies in this branch of biology examine such phenomena as adaptation, speciation, and pop ...

. The most significant of his work, which included over 80 journal articles, focused on

biochemical genetics Molecular biology is the branch of biology that seeks to understand the molecular basis of biological activity in and between cells, including biomolecular synthesis, modification, mechanisms, and interactions. The study of chemical and physi ...

and

cytogenetics Cytogenetics is essentially a branch of genetics, but is also a part of cell biology/cytology (a subdivision of human anatomy), that is concerned with how the chromosomes relate to cell behaviour, particularly to their behaviour during mitosis an ...

in non-human primates.Robert W. Sussman, Alison F. Richard, and Jeffrey Rogers. "Obituary: John Buettner-Janusch (1924-1992)." ''American Journal of Physical Anthropology'', vol. 91 (1993), pp. 529-530. In 1965, Buettner-Janusch moved to

Duke University Duke University is a private research university in Durham, North Carolina. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco and electric power industrialist James ...

, where he founded the

Duke Lemur Center The Duke Lemur Center is an sanctuary for rare and endangered strepsirrhine primates, located at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina. It is the largest sanctuary for strepsirrhine primates in the world. The center is open to the public ...

. He wrote two textbooks: ''Origins of Man'' (1966), produced with the assistance of his wife and long-time collaborator Vina Mallowitz Buettner-Janusch, and ''Physical Anthropology: A Perspective''. The first textbook, according to the writers of his obituary in the ''American Journal of Physical Anthropology'', "is widely regarded as a classic in physical anthropology, and many nthropologistsfeel that there has been no better text on the subject before or since." In 1973, Buettner-Janusch became head of the NYU anthropology department. Shortly after his wife died in 1977, he was accused of harboring an illegal drug operation in his laboratory, in which his assistants were making

LSD Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), also known colloquially as acid, is a potent psychedelic drug. Effects typically include intensified thoughts, emotions, and sensory perception. At sufficiently high dosages LSD manifests primarily mental, vi ...

and

methaqualone Methaqualone is a hypnotic sedative. It was sold under the brand names Quaalude ( ) and Sopor among others, which contained 300 mg of methaqualone, and sold as a combination drug under the brand name Mandrax, which contained 250 mg met ...

. Although he maintained his innocence, he was indicted in 1979 and convicted, in 1980, on several counts related to the drug operation. He was paroled from a five-year sentence in 1983. In 1987, seeking revenge for his drug conviction, Buettner-Janusch anonymously sent poisoned

Valentine's Day Valentine's Day, also called Saint Valentine's Day or the Feast of Saint Valentine, is celebrated annually on February 14. It originated as a Christian feast day honoring one or two early Christian martyrs named Saint Valentine and, throu ...

chocolates to the federal judge for the case, Charles L. Brieant Jr., as well as others. Brieant's wife fell ill after eating some of the chocolate. After pleading guilty, Buettner-Janusch was given a 20-year prison sentence. He died of AIDS after serving six years; near the end of his life he stopped eating and was being force-fed. The podcast ''

Criminal In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definitions of", in Can ...

'' produced an episode, "Professor Quaalude," about Buettner-Janusch's life and crimes.

Notes and references

External links

John Buettner-Janusch Papers
- National Anthropological Archives {{DEFAULTSORT:Buettner-Janusch, John American people who died in prison custody Physical anthropologists Poisoners 1924 births 1992 deaths University of Michigan alumni University of Chicago alumni People from Eagle River, Wisconsin 20th-century American anthropologists American conscientious objectors American people convicted of drug offenses American people convicted of attempted murder Prisoners who died in New York (state) detention AIDS-related deaths in New York (state)