Ronald Herbert Cohn (November 11, 1943 – September 16, 2022) was an American zoologist who was a long-time research collaborator of psychologist

Francine Patterson Francine "Penny" Patterson (born February 13, 1947) is an American animal psychologist. She is best known for teaching a modified form of American Sign Language, which she calls "Gorilla Sign Language", or GSL, to a gorilla named Koko beginning ...

in her work in training

Koko Koko or KOKO may refer to: Animals *Koko (gorilla) (1971–2018), a gorilla trained to communicate in American Sign Language *Koko (dog) (2005–2012), the Australian kelpie in the 2011 film ''Red Dog'' *Koko (horse), an Irish racehorse that won ...

the gorilla in the use of

American sign language American Sign Language (ASL) is a natural language that serves as the predominant sign language of Deaf communities in the United States of America and most of Anglophone Canadians, Anglophone Canada. ASL is a complete and organized visual lang ...

. He documented much of Koko's life on film and on camera, and is credited as the illustrator for the

children's book Children's literature or juvenile literature includes stories, books, magazines, and poems that are created for children. Modern children's literature is classified in two different ways: genre or the intended age of the reader. Children's ...

s ''Koko's Kitten'', ''Koko-Love!: Conversations With a Signing Gorilla'', and ''Koko's Story''. One of his photos of Koko was featured on the cover of ''

National Geographic ''National Geographic'' (formerly the ''National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as NAT GEO) is a popular American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. Known for its photojournalism, it is one of the most widely ...

'' in 1978 and 1985. At the

University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the Universit ...

, he received his

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

in 1965, his

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

zoology Zoology ()The pronunciation of zoology as is usually regarded as nonstandard, though it is not uncommon. is the branch of biology that studies the Animal, animal kingdom, including the anatomy, structure, embryology, evolution, Biological clas ...

in 1967, and his

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is a ...

biology Biology is the scientific study of life. It is a natural science with a broad scope but has several unifying themes that tie it together as a single, coherent field. For instance, all organisms are made up of cells that process hereditary i ...

in 1971. After receiving his PhD, Cohn worked as a cell biologist at the Stanford Departments of Medicine and Pediatrics. He did research in genetic engineering and membrane structure. He is credited with discovering that adult cells make hyaluronic acid from glucosamine, which led the way to glucosamine being used to treat arthritis. Cohn co-founded

The Gorilla Foundation The Gorilla Foundation is a non-profit organization founded in 1976 by Francine Patterson and Ronald Cohn in order to purchase the young gorilla named Koko from the San Francisco Zoo. Patterson had been teaching Koko American Sign Language since 197 ...

with Patterson in 1971. Cohn died at his home in

Redwood City, California Redwood City is a city on the San Francisco Peninsula in Northern California's Bay Area, approximately south of San Francisco, and northwest of San Jose. Redwood City's history spans its earliest inhabitation by the Ohlone people to being a ...

, on September 16, 2022, at the age of 78.

References

External links

The Gorilla Foundation
1943 births 2022 deaths 21st-century American biologists University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign alumni {{US-zoologist-stub