science · 20 September 1894 · 130 years ago
birth
Born 20 Sep 1894; died 9 Dec 1940 at age 46.
Gladwyn Kingsley Noble was an American biologist and zoologist. After WW I, he began his life's work at the American Museum of Natural History, specializing in herpetology (the study of reptiles and amphibians) and experimental biology investigations using techniques of endocrinology and neurology. In an article published in Nature on 7 Aug 1926, Noble debunked Paul Kammerer's claim that he had induced nuptial pads on midwife toads that were hereditary. After Noble examined a preserved specimen, he revealed the pad was simulated with injected Indian ink. This set off an academic bombshell. He died at the very height of his ability, at age 47, from a streptococcus infection of the throat.
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