Newton Ennis Morton (21 December 1929 – 7 February 2018) was an American population
geneticist
A geneticist is a biologist or physician who studies genetics, the science of genes, heredity, and variation of organisms. A geneticist can be employed as a scientist or a lecturer. Geneticists may perform general research on genetic processes ...
and one of the founders of the field of
genetic epidemiology
Genetic epidemiology is the study of the role of genetic factors in determining health and disease in families and in populations, and the interplay of such genetic factors with environmental factors. Genetic epidemiology seeks to derive a statist ...
.
Early life and education
Morton was born in
Camden, New Jersey
Camden is a city in and the county seat of Camden County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Camden is part of the Delaware Valley metropolitan area and is located directly across the Delaware River from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. At the 20 ...
. When he was three months old, his family moved to
New Haven, Connecticut
New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134 ...
. His interest in science started at an early age, when he would collect butterflies. Morton attended
Hopkins School
Hopkins School is a private, college-preparatory, coeducational, day school for grades 7–12 located in New Haven, Connecticut.
In 1660, Edward Hopkins, seven-time governor of the Connecticut Colony, bequeathed a portion of his estate to found s ...
, later transferring to
Swarthmore College
Swarthmore College ( , ) is a private liberal arts college in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1864, with its first classes held in 1869, Swarthmore is one of the earliest coeducational colleges in the United States. It was established as ...
for two years. He lost enthusiasm for entomology, so instead he decided to pursue a career in genetics after being inspired by
Dobzhansky
Theodosius Grigorievich Dobzhansky (russian: Феодо́сий Григо́рьевич Добржа́нский; uk, Теодо́сій Григо́рович Добржа́нський; January 25, 1900 – December 18, 1975) was a prominent ...
's book, ''
Genetics and the Origin of Species
''Genetics and the Origin of Species'' is a 1937 book by the Ukrainian-American evolutionary biologist Theodosius Dobzhansky. It is regarded as one of the most important works of the modern synthesis, and was one of the earliest. The book populari ...
''.
After marrying a woman from Hawaii, Morton decided to attend the
University of Hawaii
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, th ...
to earn a BA in Zoology, finishing his degree in 1951. He completed a thesis on ''
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 speci ...
'' at the
University of Wisconsin
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United Stat ...
, but he was more interested in the work of
James F. Crow and
Sewall Wright
Sewall Green Wright FRS(For) Honorary FRSE (December 21, 1889March 3, 1988) was an American geneticist known for his influential work on evolutionary theory and also for his work on path analysis. He was a founder of population genetics alongsi ...
. Morton then worked with Crow on the
Atomic Bomb Casualty Commission
The Atomic Bomb Casualty Commission (ABCC) ( Japanese:原爆傷害調査委員会, ''Genbakushōgaichōsaiinkai'') was a commission established in 1946 in accordance with a presidential directive from Harry S. Truman to the National Academy of ...
in Japan during 1952–1953. This inspired him to pursue a career in human genetics. He earned a PhD in genetics from the University of Wisconsin in 1955.
Academic career
Morton's career began in Japan, working on the Atomic Bomb Casualty Commission. He researched the effect of exposure to atomic bombs, including the effect on first-generation offspring. He published papers on the linkage of blood groups with diseases, nonrandomness of consanguineous marriage and the inheritance of human birth weight. In 1955–1956, Morton was made a National Cancer Institute Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Wisconsin. He worked at the university, first as an assistant professor in 1956, later becoming an associate professor in 1960 for two years.
At the university, Morton conducted a study of over 180,000 births.
In 1962, Morton won the
William Allan Award The William Allan Award, given by the American Society of Human Genetics, was established in 1961 in memory of William Allan (1881–1943), one of the first American physicians to conduct extensive research in human genetics.
The William Allan ...
for his contribution in the field of human genetics. In that same year, he set up the department of genetics. After realizing that the department was no longer tenable due to administrative problems, he instead decided to set up the Population Genetics Laboratory at Hawaii in 1964. He was appointed director of the facility and stayed there for 21 years. He left Hawaii in 1985 and spent two years at the
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
as the head of the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics.
In 1988, Morton acquired a position as professor and director of the Cancer Research Campaign Research Group in Genetic Epidemiology at the
University of Southampton
, mottoeng = The Heights Yield to Endeavour
, type = Public research university
, established = 1862 – Hartley Institution1902 – Hartley University College1913 – Southampton University Coll ...
. In 1999, a book on the recent advances of genetic epidemiology was published in honor of his 70th birthday. He was a Senior Professional Fellow in Human Genetics from 1995 until 2011. Morton retired from the University of Southampton in April 2011 due to age and
Alzheimer's
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease that usually starts slowly and progressively worsens. It is the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As t ...
-related health problems.
Personal life
Morton was married to his second wife, Professor
Patricia Jacobs
Patricia Ann Jacobs OBE FRSE FRS FMedSci FRCPath (born 8 October 1934) is a Scottish geneticist and is Honorary Professor of Human Genetics, Co-director of Research, Wessex Regional Genetics Laboratory, within the University of Southampton.
...
, for over 40 years. Morton has five children and seven grandchildren with his first wife.
He died on 7 February 2018 at the age of 88.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Morton, Newton
American geneticists
1929 births
2018 deaths
University of Hawaiʻi alumni
University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni
Swarthmore College alumni
American epidemiologists
Academics of the University of Southampton
People from Camden, New Jersey
Hopkins High School alumni