Thomas Hunt Morgan
A geneticist who established the chromosome theory of heredity through his experiments with fruit flies, demonstrating that genes are located on chromosomes.
Most quoted
"If you want to make a discovery, you have to be willing to look where no one else is looking. Or at something everyone else is ignoring, like a fruit fly."
— from Attributed
"The human condition is one of constant striving and adaptation, and our understanding of heredity helps us to understand our place in the natural world."
— from Unknown
"My advice to young scientists: don't be afraid to make mistakes. That's how you find out what doesn't work, which is almost as important as what does."
— from Attributed
All quotes by Thomas Hunt Morgan (422)
My lab smells faintly of bananas and formaldehyde. It's the scent of progress.
The most dangerous phrase in science is 'We've always done it this way.'
I'm not a mad scientist, just a very enthusiastic one with a lot of flies.
The chromosome is a library of life, and each gene is a chapter.
Some people call it tedious work. I call it a prolonged conversation with the universe.
The beauty of scientific inquiry is that it's never truly finished; there's always another question to ask.
I've learned more from a single mutant fly than from a thousand textbooks.
My greatest achievement? Making fruit flies famous.
The gene doesn't care about your philosophical musings; it just wants to replicate.
Science is a bit like detective work, only the criminals are invisible and the clues are microscopic.
If you're not occasionally confused, you're not paying attention to genetics.
The most profound truths are often found in the most unassuming places, like a bottle of fruit flies.
I've been accused of having a one-track mind. It's true, but it's a very interesting track.
The chromosome is a dance floor, and the genes are the dancers, moving to the rhythm of life.
My work is a testament to the fact that even the smallest creatures can hold the biggest secrets.
The only thing more persistent than a fruit fly is a scientist with a good hypothesis.
Genetics is the instruction manual for life, and I'm just trying to read the fine print.
The problem of heredity is the problem of development, and the problem of development is the problem of the organism as a whole.
We are not dealing with a static machine, but with a living, growing, and changing system.
The organism is not merely a collection of parts, but an integrated whole, and its properties emerge from the interactions of these parts.
Contemporaries of Thomas Hunt Morgan
Other Biologys born within 50 years of Thomas Hunt Morgan (1866–1945).