Voting Station

Barbara McClintock

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Scientist

The Resume

    (June 16, 1902-September 2, 1992)
    Born in Hartford, Connecticut
    Birth name was Eleanor McClintock
    Botanist and geneticist
    Demonstrated genetic recombination by crossover during meiosis (1930)
    Produced the first genetic map for maize (corn)
    Discovered transposable elements ('jumping genes') in chromosomes (1945)
    Won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (1983)

Why she might be annoying:

    Her parents changed her name after deciding that 'Eleanor' was too 'delicate' and 'feminine' for her.
    She rarely worked with collaborators, which tended to isolate her from the scientific community.
    She described the initial response to her discovery of jumping genes as 'puzzlement, even hostility.'
    As a result, she stopped publishing data on the subject in 1953.

Why she might not be annoying:

    In the 60s and 70s, advances in molecular biology and genetics confirmed her discoveries.
    She was the first woman awarded the National Medal of Science (1970).
    She was the first recipient of a MacArthur Foundation 'Genius Grant.' (1981)
    DNA co-decoder James Watson called her 'one of the three most important figures in the history of genetics.' (The other two were Gregor Mendel, the 'father of genetics,' and Thomas Hunt Morgan, who demonstrated that genes were the unit of heredity.)

Credit: C. Fishel


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2022, Out of 2 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 15 Votes: 66.67% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 2 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 2 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 1 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 1 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 12 Votes: 41.67% Annoying
    In 2015, Out of 6 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2014, Out of 12 Votes: 50.0% Annoying