Reginald Ruggles Gates, was a Canadian-born geneticist who published widely in the fields of botany and eugenics.
Occupation
anthropologist, geneticist, botanist, zoologist
Citizenship
Canada
Born
May 1, 1882
Died
August 12, 1962
Overview
Reginald Ruggles Gates (May 1, 1882 – August 12, 1962), was a Canadian-born geneticist who published widely in the fields of botany and eugenics.
Early life
Reginald Ruggles Gates was born on May 1, 1882, near Middleton, Nova Scotia, to a family of English ancestry. He had a twin sister named Charlotte.
Gates graduated with first class honours in science from Mount Allison University in 1903. Further studies toward a second B.Sc. from McGill University were interrupted by a year in which he returned to his childhood home in Middleton, Nova Scotia, where he served as vice-principal in a local school. He completed this second B.Sc. in 1905, focusing on botany, before accepting a Senior Fellowship at University of Chicago where he completed his Ph.D. on heredity in Oenothera lata (evening primrose) in 1908.
Career
Gates did botanical work in Missouri in 1910. Later, he was a lecturer at Bedford College, London and Professor of Biology at King's College London. He was known for his studies of Oenothera and other plants.
