Otmar von Verschuer
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Professor Otmar Freiherr von Verschuer |
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|---|---|
| Born |
July 16, 1896 Wildeck |
| Died | August 8, 1969 (aged 73) Münster |
| Citizenship | German |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Human biology, human genetics |
| Institutions | Kaiser Wilhelm Institute of Anthropology, Human Heredity, and Eugenics, University of Münster |
Otmar Freiherr von Verschuer (16 July 1896, Wildeck, Hesse-Nassau – 8 August 1969, Münster, West Germany) was a German human biologist and geneticist, who was most recently Professor of Human Genetics at the University of Münster until his 1965 retirement. A member of the Dutch noble Verschuer family, his title Freiherr is often translated as baron.
He was regarded as a pioneer in the twin methodology in genetics research and in the study of the inheritance of diseases and anomalies, and was a prominent eugenicist with an interest in racial hygiene and an advocate of compulsory sterilization programs in the first half of the 20th century. Among his many students were Josef Mengele.
He successfully redefined himself as a geneticist in the postwar era. During the 1950s and 1960s he was noted for research on the effects of nuclear radiation on humans and for his warnings against the possibility of creating "scientifically improved" human beings offered by genetic science.
Verschuer was the director of the Institute for Genetic Biology and Racial Hygiene from 1935 to 1942 and director of the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute of Anthropology, Human Heredity, and Eugenics from 1942 to 1948. From 1951 to 1965 he was Professor of Human Genetics at the University of Münster, where he also served as Dean of the Faculty of Medicine. At Münster he established one of the largest centers of genetics research in West Germany, and remained one of the world's most prominent genetics researchers until his death. He became Professor Emeritus in 1965; he received numerous memberships in learned societies. In 1952 he was elected President of the German Anthropological Association. His son Helmut von Verschuer was a high-ranking official of the European Commission.
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