Richard Goldschmidt
Richard Goldschmidt | |
|---|---|
In his laboratory | |
| Born | April 12, 1878 Frankfurt am Main, Germany |
| Died | April 24, 1958 (aged 80) |
| Nationality | German |
| Alma mater | University of Heidelberg |
| Known for | "Hopeful monster" hypothesis |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | genetics |
| Institutions | University of Munich, UC Berkeley |
| Doctoral advisor | Otto Bütschli |
| Other academic advisors | Richard Hertwig |
Richard Benedict Goldschmidt (April 12, 1878 – April 24, 1958) was a German geneticist. He is considered the first to attempt to integrate genetics, development, and evolution. He pioneered understanding of reaction norms, genetic assimilation, dynamical genetics, sex determination, and heterochrony. Controversially, Goldschmidt advanced a model of macroevolution through macromutations popularly known as the "Hopeful Monster" hypothesis.
Goldschmidt also described the nervous system of the nematode, a piece of work that influenced Sydney Brenner to study the "wiring diagram" of Caenorhabditis elegans, winning Brenner and his colleagues the Nobel Prize in 2002.