© 2005 The American Genetic Association
Obituary |
Hampton L. Carson (1914–2004)
Director, Center for Conservation Research & Training, University of Hawaii, Honolulu, HI 96822
Hampton L. Carson was born on November 5, 1914 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He obtained both an undergraduate (A.B., 1936) and postgraduate degree (Ph.D., 1943) from the University of Pennsylvania. He was hired as an Assistant Professor of Biology at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri in 1943 and remained on the faculty as Associate Professor and Full Professor until 1971, when he moved to Hawaii to become Professor of Genetics at the University of Hawaii's John A. Burns School of Medicine.
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Based on detailed examination of the banding patterns of the giant polytene chromosomes in the Hawaiian Drosophila, Hamp (the name by which most of his colleagues and friends call him) developed a powerful method of population studies which led to the formulation of Carson's Founder-Flush Theory of Speciation. He was one of the early pioneers in recognizing the unique situation for speciation in Hawaii, which is so spectacular that Hawaii has been called "one of the best natural laboratories for the study of evolution." It is with this background that one can contextualize Hamp's remarkable contributions. His work on the speciation and evolution of the Hawaiian Drosophila has been cited extensively and is considered one of the supreme examples of multidisciplinary research. He was instrumental in bringing together a team of experts in the fields of systematics and taxonomy, genetics, ecology, behavior, physiology, botany, geology, biochemistry, and molecular biology to understand the speciation processes within one of the most remarkable group of organisms in the Hawaiian Archipelago. He has made major contributions in each of these areas either by his own work or by bringing to light the relevant work of others. He has moved from one area to another as the need for new approaches arose, and generously encouraged the participation of colleagues with new and appropriate skills.
In this day of genomics and proteomics, it is sometimes easy to forget the giants whose foundational work made our current insights possible. Hamp is considered one of those intellectual giants. The current generation of molecular geneticists, for all their remarkable detailed work at the level of nucleotide and peptide sequences, in DNA and protein, Hamp's analyses of phylogenetic relationships among picture-winged Hawaiian Drosophila based on chromosomal morphology still remain the cornerstone for interpreting phylogenetic relationships based on molecular tools.
Hamp's accomplishments as a scientist is more than evidenced by the voluminous publications and the equally abundant citations of his works. He published nearly 300 scientific articles in the field of evolutionary biology and published a definitive book in the field of genetics entitled, Heredity and Human Life. He is recognized as one of the most influential figures in evolutionary biology during the past several decades and his research has been cited as "...one of the most important studies of 20th century biology." In 1979, he was elected to the National Academy of Sciences; in 1985, the Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sciences awarded Hamp the Leidy Medal for his outstanding contributions to the natural sciences, particularly his work on the evolutionary biology of the Hawaiian Drosophila. While Carson's work on the Hawaiian insects span more than four decades, his contributions to the natural sciences began nearly 30 years before he began his studies in the Hawaiian Islands. In 1935, he wrote a paper on medicinal herbs used by the Labrador Eskimos. Then, in 1940, he published a paper on the red crossbill and one in 1945 on the late fertilization in a species of snake. His interests in biology had obviously been strongly influenced by an interest in natural history which began as a young boy but became fully developed as a young college student member of the Delaware Valley Ornithological Club.
Although Hamp retired from official duties at the University of Hawaii's Department of Genetics in 1985, he was still very active in research and continued to make significant contributions to evolutionary biology. He was considered to have been one of the University of Hawaii's most eminent scientists. He was brilliant but not flamboyant or self-promoting. He was a master teacher who in the course of his distinguished career gave of himself unselfishly to his colleagues and to his many students. Modesty is a virtue unparalleled in this great scientist. He had an acutely critical mind but was sensitive to others, particularly students. Indeed, Hamp and the Hawaiian Drosophila Project for which he was intimately associated was an important training ground for more than 400 undergraduate, graduate, and postgraduate students in all aspects of evolutionary biology. He was a father-figure who was able to motivate and challenge the minds of the younger generations to unlock the secrets of evolutionary biology not only for the sake of knowledge but also to make them think about how such knowledge can help to preserve the natural heritage of our planet. It was these qualities that made this great scientist the humble person that he was.
Hamp Carson passed away on December 19, 2004 at the age of 90.
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