Arthur Galston
| Arthur William Galston | |
|---|---|
| Born |
April 21, 1920 New York, NY |
| Died | June 15, 2008 (aged 88) Hamden, Connecticut |
| Institutions | |
| Alma mater | |
| Academic advisors | Harry Fuller |
| Known for |
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| Influences |
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| Notable awards | William Clyde DeVane Medal, 1994; Alumni Achievement Award, 2004 |
| Spouse | Dale Judith Kuntz (m. June 27, 1941) |
| Children |
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Arthur W. Galston (April 21, 1920 – June 15, 2008) was an American botanist and bioethicist. As a plant biologist, Galston studied the effects of light on plant development. He identified riboflavin and other flavins as photoreceptors involved in phototropism, the bending of plants toward light, challenging the prevailing view that carotene was responsible.
As a graduate student in 1943, Galston studied the use of 2,3,5-triiodobenzoic acid (TIBA) to encourage the flowering of soybeans, and noted that high levels had a defoliant effect. The British and U.S. military later developed TIBA into Agent Orange which was employed extensively in Malaya and Vietnam. Galston became a bioethicist, and spoke out against such uses of science. As chairman of Yale's botany department, Galston's ethical objections led President Nixon to end the use of Agent Orange.
Galston was the youngest child of Hyman and Freda Galston. He grew up in a Jewish family in Brooklyn, impoverished during the Great Depression. Inspired by doctors like microbiologist Paul de Kruif but unable to afford medical school, Galston enrolled at Cornell's Agricultural College which was free for citizens of New York State. He played saxophone in jazz and swing bands to earn living expenses.
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