Edward Tatum

Geneticist

Birthday December 14, 1909

Birth Sign Sagittarius

Birthplace Boulder, CO

DEATH DATE Nov 5, 1975 (65)

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About

Geneticist who won the 1958 Nobel Prize in Medicine for demonstrating that genes control individual steps in metabolism. He later did important work on the genetics in bacteria.

Before Fame

After an undergraduate degree from the University of Wisconsin, he stayed on in the school to research conditions in which bacteria thrived.

Trivia

He conducted successful research on the genetics of corn and Drosophila flies, before studying Neurospora bacterial culture to prove that 'one gene makes one protein,' the start of bacterial genetics.

Family Life

He was born in Boulder, Colorado, his father a medical doctor and a professor teaching at several universities.

Associated With

Joshua Lederberg contributed to his research in bacterial genetics and shared the 1958 Nobel Prize.