Thomas H. Montgomery, Jr.
| Thomas Harrison Montgomery Jr. | |
|---|---|
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|
| Born |
March 5, 1873 New York City |
| Died | March 19, 1912 (aged 39) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater | University of Berlin |
| Known for | Chromosome and cell research |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Zoology, Cytology |
| Institutions | University of Pennsylvania, University of Texas |
| Doctoral advisor | Franz Eilhard Schulze |
Thomas Harrison Montgomery Jr. (March 5, 1873 – March 19, 1912) was an American zoologist who made important contributions to cell biology–especially in chromosomes and their roles in sex determination–as well as the biology of birds and several groups invertebrates, naming many species of ribbon worms, rotifers, and spiders. He studied in Berlin before becoming a researcher and professor at the University of Pennsylvania, where he primarily worked until his death at the age of 39. In his short career he published 80 scientific papers and two books.
Montgomery was born in New York City on March 5, 1873 to a wealthy Pennsylvania family. His father, Thomas Harrison Montgomery Sr., was a businessman and writer who authored several historical accounts and was president of the Insurance Company of North America from 1882 until his death in 1905. His mother, Anna Morton, was daughter of noted physician and naturalist Samuel George Morton. Thomas Sr. and Anna had nine children–six sons and three daughters–of which Thomas Jr. was the sixth born. His older brother James Alan Montgomery (1866–1949) would become a noted Oriental scholar. At the age of nine, his family moved to the countryside near West Chester, Pennsylvania, where young Thomas soon began collecting field notes and bird specimens, amassing around 250 bird skins by age 15 and 450 by 17. He graduated from the Episcopal Academy in Philadelphia in 1889.
In 1889, Montgomery enrolled in the University of Pennsylvania, where he studied for two years before a summer trip to Europe inspired him to complete his education in Germany, enrolling in the University of Berlin in 1891 and completing a PhD in 1894 at the age of 21. His thesis was primarily supervised by Franz Eilhard Schulze, who worked largely with sponges and other invertebrates.
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