The History of Genetics and Eugenics Within Colby Biology Department, an essay by Sarah Gold
Webster Chester in either 1939 or 1940 sitting at a desk in a science building preparing samples. Photographer unknown.
Gordon E Gates photo taken between 1948-1951 in a Colby classroom. Gates is pointing to a picture of Webster Chester.
Picture of Allan Scott from the 1970 Colby Oracle, he is in a science building. Photographer unknown.
Arthur Champlin most like this photo was taken in the 1990s in a science building. Photographer unknown.
Dave Angelini with a bee in a covered petri dish taken in the 2010s. Photographer unknown.
These five professors: Webster Chester, Gordon E. Gates, Allan Scott, Arthur Champlin, and Dave Angelini, have all taught the genetics elective at Colby for some amount of time spanning from the electives inception in 1918 by Chester to today. Each has had a slightly different curriculum, and each professor has their own interests that they research outside of the classroom. Chester taught the elective from 1918 to 1948. Gates took over and taught from 1948 to 1951. Then Scott taught the elective from 1951 to 1971, Champlin then took over and taught the elective from 1971-2003. From 2003-2012 a series of professors taught the genetics elective for a year or two. Starting in 2012 Angelini has primarily been the professor to teach genetics. All five professors conducted research on various animals. Chester experimented on various animals but one of the more interesting things he did was create a cat-killing machine to allow him to more easily experiment on cats. Gates was fascinated by earthworms and did lots of work on the classification of earthworms. Scott researched sea urchin eggs and cell division. Champlin did research at Jackson Laboratory to find a less intrusive method to measure the ovulation cycle in mice. Today, Angelini does various research with bugs and genetics. While each of these professors has researched seemingly unrelated topics teaching genetics at Colby ties them together. Over time the curriculum has changed to reflect the field of genetics at the time. This meant the course developed out of a zoology course and at various times wove eugenics into the curriculum. While the professors who have taught genetics at Colby may not have met each other or even know about their various research, they are all connected through the course and the student they have taught.
Curated by Sarah Gold