Editing Theodosius Dobzhansky (section)

==Biography==
=== Early life ===
Dobzhansky was born on January 25, 1900,<ref name="Theodosius Dobzhansky 1900-1975"/> in [[Nemyriv|Nemirov]], [[Russian Empire]] (now Nemyriv, [[Ukraine]]), the only child of Grigory Dobzhansky, a mathematics teacher, and Sophia Voinarsky.<ref name=formemrs/>{{rp| 59}} He was given an unusual name, [[Theodosius]], because he was born after his middle-aged parents prayed for a child to St. [[:ru:Феодосий Черниговский|Theodosius of Chernigov]]. In 1910 the family moved to [[Kyiv|Kiev]].

At high school, Dobzhansky collected butterflies and decided to become a biologist.<ref name=Ayala/>{{rp|163}} In 1915, he met Victor Luchnik who convinced him to specialize in [[beetles]] instead. Dobzhansky attended the [[Kyiv University|University of Kiev]], where he then studied until 1924 specializing in entomology.<ref name=":Vucinich">{{Cite journal|last=Vucinich|first=Alexander|date=1995|title=Review of The Evolution of Theodosius Dobzhansky: Essays on His Life and Thought in Russia and America|journal=Slavic Review|volume=54|issue=3|pages=778–779|doi=10.2307/2501792|jstor=2501792|s2cid=165064587 }}</ref> He then moved to Leningrad (today [[Saint Petersburg|St. Petersburg]]) to study under [[Yuri Filipchenko]], where a ''[[Drosophila melanogaster]]'' laboratory had been established.

On August 8, 1924, Dobzhansky married geneticist Natalia "Natasha" Sivertzeva, who was working with [[Ivan Schmalhausen]] in Kiev. The Dobzhanskys had one daughter, known under her married name as [[Sophie Coe]], an anthropologist, food historian, and author, primarily known for her work on the [[history of chocolate]].

Before immigrating to the United States, Dobzhansky published 35 scientific works on entomology and genetics.

===America===
Dobzhansky immigrated to the United States in 1927 on a work–study scholarship from the International Education Board of the [[Rockefeller Foundation]]. Upon arriving in New York City on December 27, he joined the ''[[Drosophila]]'' Group at Columbia University working alongside [[Thomas Hunt Morgan]] and [[Alfred Sturtevant]]. Their work provided crucial information on Drosophila cytogenetics.<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal|last=Lewontin|first=R. C.|date=1976|title=Theodosius Dobzhansky. 1900 - 1975|journal=BioScience|volume=26|issue=2|pages=155|doi=10.2307/1297333|jstor=1297333}}</ref> Additionally, Dobzhansky and his team helped establish ''[[Drosophila pseudoobscura]]'', within the genus ''Drosophila'', as a favorable model organism in evolutionary-biological studies ever since they published their influential works.<ref name="Crow">{{cite journal |last1=Crow |first1=James F. |title=Mid-Century Controversies in Population Genetics |journal=Annual Review of Genetics |date=1 December 2008 |volume=42 |issue=1 |pages=1–16 |doi=10.1146/annurev.genet.42.110807.091612 |pmid=18652542 |url=https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/full/10.1146/annurev.genet.42.110807.091612 |access-date=8 March 2023 |language=en |issn=0066-4197}}</ref><ref>King, Robert (2012-12-06). ''Dobzhansky T, Powell JR:''Drosophila pseudoobscura ''and its American relatives,'' D. persimilis ''and'' D. miranda''. Hand Book of Genetics. Edited by: King RC. 1975, New York: Plenum, 3: 537-587''. {{ISBN|9781461571483}}.</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Powell |first1=Jeffrey R. |title=Progress and prospects in evolutionary biology : the Drosophila model |date=1997 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=New York |isbn=978-0195076912}}</ref> Dobzhansky's original mindset (after studying alongside [[Yuri Filipchenko]]), was that there were serious doubts on using data obtained from phenomena happening in local populations ([[microevolution]]) and phenomena happening on a global scale ([[macroevolution]]). Filipchenko also believed that there were only two types of inheritance: [[Mendelian inheritance]] of variation within species, and Non-Mendelian inheritance of variation in a macroevolutionary sense. Dobzhansky later stated that Filipchenko "bet on the wrong horse".<ref name=":2">{{Cite journal|last=Hull|first=David L.|date=1994|editor-last=Adams|editor-first=Mark B.|title=Evolutionist|journal=Science|volume=266|issue=5190|pages=1589–1590|jstor=2885197|doi=10.1126/science.266.5190.1589|pmid=17841721}}</ref>

He followed Morgan to the [[California Institute of Technology]] from 1930 to 1940. On the basis of his experiments, he articulated the idea that [[reproductive isolation]] can be caused by differences in presence of microbial symbionts between populations.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Margulis |first1=Lynn |first2=Dorion |last2=Sagan |title=Acquiring genomes : a theory of the origins of species |date=2002 |publisher=Basic Books |location=New York, NY |isbn=0-465-04392-5 |edition=First |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DS-VehE00ncC&pg=PA94 |page=94}}</ref> In 1937, he published one of the major works of the [[Extended evolutionary synthesis|modern evolutionary synthesis]], the synthesis of [[evolutionary biology]] with [[genetics]], titled ''[[Genetics and the Origin of Species]]'', which amongst other things, defined [[evolution]] as "a change in the [[frequency of an allele]] within a [[gene pool]]". Dobzhansky's work was instrumental in spreading the idea that it is through mutations in genes that [[natural selection]] takes place. Also in 1937, he became a [[naturalized citizen]] of the United States. During this time, he had a very public falling out with one of his ''Drosophila'' collaborators, [[Alfred Sturtevant]], based primarily in professional competition.

He returned to [[Columbia University]] from 1940 to 1962. Among his students was geneticist [[Bruce Wallace (geneticist)|Bruce Wallace]].<ref>{{Cite journal |date=2015-05-01 |title=In Memory of Bruce Wallace: 1920–2015 |journal=Journal of Heredity |volume=106 |issue=3 |pages=331–332 |doi=10.1093/jhered/esv024 |pmid=26086052 |issn=0022-1503|last1=MacIntyre |first1=R. J. |last2=Gearhart |first2=J. D. |last3=Effron |first3=J. W. |last4=O' Brien |first4=S. J. |last5=Fogleman |first5=J. |doi-access=free }}</ref> In 1941, Dobzhansky was awarded the [[Daniel Giraud Elliot Medal]] from the [[United States National Academy of Sciences|National Academy of Sciences]], of which he was also a member.<ref name="Elliot">{{cite web|title=Daniel Giraud Elliot Medal|url=http://www.nasonline.org/site/PageServer?pagename=AWARDS_elliot|publisher=National Academy of Sciences|access-date=16 February 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120801121352/http://nas.nasonline.org/site/PageServer?pagename=AWARDS_elliot|archive-date=1 August 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Theodosius Dobzhansky |url=http://www.nasonline.org/member-directory/deceased-members/20001026.html |access-date=2023-04-21 |website=www.nasonline.org}}</ref> He was elected to the [[American Philosophical Society]] in 1942.<ref>{{Cite web |title=APS Member History |url=https://search.amphilsoc.org/memhist/search?creator=Theodosius+Dobzhansky&title=&subject=&subdiv=&mem=&year=&year-max=&dead=&keyword=&smode=advanced |access-date=2023-04-21 |website=search.amphilsoc.org}}</ref> In 1943, the [[University of São Paulo]] awarded him an [[honorary doctorate]].<ref>{{cite web| url = http://biton.uspnet.usp.br/secretaria/wp-content/uploads/honoris1934a1948.pdf| title = Honorary Doctorates between the decades of 1940s and 1950s from the University of Sao Paulo, Brazil}}</ref> He was one of the signatories of the 1950 [[UNESCO]] statement ''[[The Race Question]]''. He was elected to the [[American Academy of Arts and Sciences]] in 1953.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Theodosius Dobzhansky |url=https://www.amacad.org/person/theodosius-dobzhansky |access-date=2023-04-21 |website=American Academy of Arts & Sciences |date=9 February 2023 |language=en}}</ref> He then moved to the Rockefeller Institute (shortly to become [[Rockefeller University]]) until his retirement in 1971. In 1972 he was elected the founding president of the [[Behavior Genetics Association]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bga.org/pages/52/Historical_table_of_BGA_Meetings.htm|title=Historical table of BGA Meetingsl|website=Bga.org|access-date=2 December 2017|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130604224702/http://www.bga.org/pages/52/Historical_table_of_BGA_Meetings.htm|archive-date=4 June 2013}}</ref> and was recognized by the society for his role in [[behavior genetics]], and the founding of the society by the creation of the Dobzhansky Award (for a lifetime of outstanding scholarship in behavior genetics).

Dobzhansky's work in the field of evolutionary genetics, with the help of [[Sewall Wright]], integrated standards of the theoretical, natural historical, and experimental work.<ref name=":1" />

Dobzhansky was elected a [[List of Fellows of the Royal Society elected in 1965|Foreign Member of the Royal Society (ForMemRS) in 1965]].<ref name="formemrs" /> In 1970, he published ''Genetics of the evolutionary process''.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Dobzhansky |first1=Theodosius |title=Genetics of the evolutionary process |date=1970  |publisher=Columbia University Press |location=New York |isbn=0-231-08306-8 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=f7su1R-NYwsC&q=Theodosius+Dobzhansky }}</ref>

Dobzhansky was renowned as the president of the [[Genetics Society of America]] in 1941, president of the [[American Society of Naturalists]] in 1950, president of the [[Society for the Study of Evolution]] in 1951, president of the [[American Society of Zoologists]] in 1963, a member of the board of directors of the [[American Eugenics Society]] in 1964, and president of the American [[Pierre Teilhard de Chardin|Teilhard de Chardin]] Association in 1969.<ref name=":Vucinich" /><ref name=":2" />

Dobzhansky's research and studies allowed him to travel the world and receive honorary degrees in Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, England, Germany, Italy, Japan, and Sweden.<ref>{{Cite journal|date=1977|title=Theodosius Dobzhansky (1900-1975)|journal=The American Naturalist|volume=111|issue=977|pages=1–2|jstor=2459974|doi=10.1086/283133|bibcode=1977ANat..111....1. |s2cid=36378854}}</ref>

=== ''Genetics and the Origin of Species'' ===
Theodosius Dobzhansky published three editions of his book ''[[Genetics and the Origin of Species]]''. Although the book was meant for people with a background in biology, it was easily understood.<ref name=":3">{{Cite journal|last=Zirkle|first=Conway|date=1942|title=Review of Genetics and the Origin of Species|journal=Isis|volume=34|issue=2|pages=181|jstor=226232|doi=10.1086/347782}}</ref> In the fields of genetics and evolution, Dobzhansky's book is acknowledged as one of the most important books ever written. With each revision of ''Genetics and the Origin of Species'', Dobzhansky added new material on crucial, up to date topics, and removed material he deemed to be no longer crucial. His book sparked trends in genetic research and theory.<ref name=":4">{{Cite journal|last=Simpson|first=G. G.|date=1952|editor-last=Dobzhansky|editor-first=Theodosius|title=Evolutionary Genetics|journal=Evolution|volume=6|issue=2|pages=246–247|doi=10.2307/2405629|jstor=2405629}}</ref>

The first edition of ''Genetics and the Origin of Species'' (1937) highlighted the most recent discoveries in genetics and how they applied to the concept of evolution.<ref name=":3" /> The book starts by addressing the problem of evolution and how modern discoveries in genetics could help find a solution. The book covers the chromosomal basis of [[Mendelian inheritance|Mendelian Inheritance]], how the effects from changes in chromosomes greater than gene mutations are common and acceptable, and how mutations form racial and specific differences.<ref name=":5">{{Cite journal|last=Zirkle|first=Conway|date=1939|title=Review of Genetics and the Origin of Species|journal=Isis|volume=30|issue=1|pages=128–131|jstor=225596|doi=10.1086/347504}}</ref> Dobzhansky explained how three levels could describe the processes of evolutionary population genetics: (1) the origin of raw materials by mutations of genes and chromosomes, (2) the changes in populations by changes in frequencies and combinations of mutations, (3) the fixation of changes by reproductive isolation.<ref name=":4" /> To support his writing and research, the bibliography was twenty-eight pages long with around six hundred sources.<ref name=":5" />

In Dobzhansky's second edition of ''Genetics and the Origin of Species'' (1941), four years had gone by and he was able to add more research and advancements made in genetics. Around half of the new research he found was added to the last two chapters in his book: Patterns of Evolution, and Species as Natural Units. In the second to last chapter, Patterns of Evolution, Dobzhansky explained how on the path to a new adaptation, a method could be used to where a species could go through a less adaptive stage. The last chapter, Species as Natural Units, Dobzhansky explained some of the contributions made in genetics to what was called "the new systematics". Dobzhansky's second edition of the book also had twice as many sources in the bibliography than the first edition.<ref name=":3" />

In the third revision of ''Genetics and the Origin of Species'' (1951), Dobzhansky rewrote all ten chapters on: Isolating Mechanisms, Mutation in Populations, Organic Diversity, Heredity and Mutation, Race Formation, Selection, Adaptive Polymorphism, Hybrid Sterility, Species as Natural Units, and Patterns of Evolution. Dobzhansky decided to remove the chapter on Polyploidy in the third edition.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Andrews|first=Ted F.|date=1952|title=Review of Genetics and the Origin of Species|journal=The American Biology Teacher|volume=14|issue=7|pages=196|doi=10.2307/4438411|jstor=4438411}}</ref> The new chapter on Adaptive Polymorphism highlighted Dobzhansky's research since the second edition. He included precise, quantitative evidence on effective [[natural selection]] in laboratory and free populations.<ref name=":4" />

=== Debate about race ===
Theodosius Dobzhansky and [[Ashley Montagu]] debated the use and validity of the term "race" over a period of many years without reaching an agreement. Montagu argued that [[Race (human categorization)|"race"]] was so laden with toxic associations that it was a word best eliminated from science completely. Dobzhansky argued that science should not give in to the misuses to which it had been subjected, and that the concept of [[Race (biology)|animal and plant races]] has been important in biology; the [[Modern synthesis (20th century)|modern synthesis]] used the concept for describing the [[Divergent evolution|diverging]] biological populations differing in gene frequencies. This was done in hopes that its foundation in [[population genetics]] would undermine the deeply ingrained social prejudices associated with "race".<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Farber|first=Paul Lawrence|year=2015|title=Dobzhansky and Montagu's Debate on Race: The Aftermath|journal=Journal of the History of Biology|volume=49|issue=4|pages=1–15|doi=10.1007/s10739-015-9428-1|pmid=26463495|s2cid=27698937}}</ref>

His concern with the interface between humans and biology may have come from different factors. The main factor would be the race prejudice that contributed in Europe that triggered [[WWII]]. His concern also dealt with religion in human life which he speaks about in his book ''The Biology of Ultimate Concern'' in 1967. "The pervasiveness of genetic variation provides the biological foundation of human individuality".<ref name=Ayala/> Dobzhansky talks about in great detail that "human nature has 2 dimensions: the biological, which mankind shares with the rest of life, and the cultural, which is exclusive to humans."<ref name=Ayala/> Both of these are believed to have come from "biological evolution and cultural evolution".<ref name=Ayala/>

Dobzhansky sought to put an end to the pseudoscience that purports genetic makeup to determine race, and thus rank in society. Harrison E. Salisbury wrote in a [[New York Times]] review of Dobzhansky's book ''Heredity and the Future of Man'' that Dobzhansky could not, together with other scientists, agree upon what defines a race. Dobzhansky stated that a true bloodline for man could not be identified. He did not believe that a person's genetic makeup decided whether or not he would be a great man but rather that man "has the rare opportunity 'to direct his evolution'".<ref name="NYT1964">{{cite news |title=Books of The Times; The Future of Man |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1964/12/19/archives/books-of-the-times-the-future-of-man.html |access-date=8 March 2023 |work=The New York Times |date=19 December 1964}}</ref>

===Final illness and the "Light of Evolution"===
Dobzhansky's wife Natasha died of [[coronary thrombosis]] on February 22, 1969.<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Ayala|first1=Francisco Jos_|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=G9DUWFaM-kMC&q=Dobzhansky%27s+wife+Natasha+died+of+coronary+thrombosis+on+February+22%2C+1969.&pg=PT13|title=Genetics and the Origin of Species: From Darwin to Molecular Biology, 60 Years After Dobzhansky|last2=Fitch|first2=Walter M.|date=1997-01-01|publisher=National Academies Press|isbn=978-0-309-05877-3|language=en}}</ref> Earlier (on June 1, 1968), Theodosius had been diagnosed with [[lymphocytic leukemia]] (a chronic form of leukemia), and had been given a few months to a few years to live. He retired in 1971, moving to the [[University of California, Davis]] where his student [[Francisco J. Ayala]] had been made assistant professor, and where he continued working as an emeritus professor. He published one of his most famous essays "[[Nothing in Biology Makes Sense Except in the Light of Evolution]]" in 1973, influenced by the paleontologist and priest [[Pierre Teilhard de Chardin]].

By 1975, his leukemia had become more severe, and on November 11 he traveled to [[San Jacinto, California]], for treatment and care. Working until his last day as a professor of genetics, Dobzhansky died (from heart failure) on December 18, 1975, in Davis, California.<ref name=":1" /> He was cremated, and his ashes were scattered in the Californian wilderness.{{citation needed|date = October 2019}}

===Evolution and God===
Theodosius Dobzhansky believed that [[God]] and [[science]] can be reconciled through the idea that the [[Theistic evolution|Creator brought about his plan through the processes of evolution]]. He described his beliefs as "Evolution is God's, or Nature's, method of Creation."<ref name="Kutschera">{{cite journal |last1=Kutschera |first1=U. |title=Dogma, not faith, is the barrier to scientific enquiry |journal=Nature |date=September 2006 |volume=443 |issue=7107 |pages=26 |doi=10.1038/443026b |pmid=16957709 |bibcode=2006Natur.443...26K |s2cid=134799 |language=en |issn=1476-4687|doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Shermer | first1 = M. | last2 = Sulloway | first2 = F.J. | year = 2000 | title = The grand old man of evolution |  journal = [[Skeptic (U.S. magazine)|Skeptic]] | volume = 8 | issue = 1| pages = 76–82 }}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite book
| publisher = Free Press
| isbn = 978-0-7432-8639-8
| last = Collins
| first = Francis S
| title = The Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief
| location = New York
| year = 2006
| url-access = registration
| url = https://archive.org/details/languageofgodsci00coll
}}</ref>