# Karl Sax > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Karl_Sax > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Karl_Sax.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karl_Sax > Source revision: 1338857016 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Short description|American botanist and geneticist (1892–1973)}} {{more citations needed|date=March 2013}} {{Infobox scientist | image = | birth_date = {{birth date |1892|11|2}} | birth_place = [Spokane, Washington](/source/Spokane%2C_Washington), USA | death_date = {{death date and age |1973|10|8|1892|11|2}} | death_place = | fields = Botany, genetics | workplaces = [University of California, Berkeley](/source/University_of_California%2C_Berkeley); Riverbank Laboratories, [Geneva, Illinois](/source/Geneva%2C_Illinois); Maine Agricultural Experiment Station, [Orono, Maine](/source/Orono%2C_Maine); Harvard University | education = [Washington State College](/source/Washington_State_College), [Bussey Institution](/source/Bussey_Institution), [Harvard University](/source/Harvard_University) (DSc 1922) | academic_advisors = [E. B. Babcock](/source/E._B._Babcock) | known_for = Research in cytogenetics and the effect of radiation on chromosomes | awards = [Mary Soper Pope Memorial Award](/source/Mary_Soper_Pope_Memorial_Award) in botany | author_abbrev_bot = '''Sax''' | spouse = [Hally Jolivette](/source/Hally_Jolivette) | children = Three sons }} '''Karl Sax''' (November 2, 1892 – October 8, 1973) was an American botanist and geneticist, noted for his research in [cytogenetics](/source/cytogenetics) and the effect of radiation on [chromosome](/source/chromosome)s. ==Early life and education== Sax was born in [Spokane, Washington](/source/Spokane%2C_Washington), in 1892. His parents were pioneer farmers and active in civic affairs; his father was the mayor of [Colville, Washington](/source/Colville%2C_Washington). Sax's early education was in the Colville schools, and in 1912 he continued his studies at [Washington State College](/source/Washington_State_College). He majored in [agriculture](/source/agriculture), and his subsequent decision to undertake graduate work was influenced by the botanist and plant breeder Edward Gaines. In college, he met and married [Hally Jolivette](/source/Hally_Jolivette), his [cytology](/source/Cell_biology) teacher, and they later had three sons. Following his graduation, Hally accepted a position at [Wellesley College](/source/Wellesley_College) in [Wellesley, Massachusetts](/source/Wellesley%2C_Massachusetts), and they moved to the East Coast in 1916. Sax enrolled in the doctoral program at the [Bussey Institution](/source/Bussey_Institution) Graduate School of Applied Biology at [Harvard University](/source/Harvard_University) in [Cambridge, Massachusetts](/source/Cambridge%2C_Massachusetts), and completed his [MA](/source/Master_of_Arts) in 1917. He went on to do his doctoral work at [Harvard University](/source/Harvard_University), receiving his D.Sc. in 1922. He served as a private in the [US Army](/source/US_Army) from 1917 to 1918 in [World War I](/source/World_War_I). ==Scientific career== In 1918, Sax took a job as an instructor in the Department of Genetics at the [University of California, Berkeley](/source/University_of_California%2C_Berkeley), where he worked with [E. B. Babcock](/source/E._B._Babcock) on the genetics of the genus ''[Crepis](/source/Crepis)''. In 1920 he took an appointment at the Riverbank Laboratories in [Geneva, Illinois](/source/Geneva%2C_Illinois), working on wheat genetics, but he moved on from that job soon after when he took a position at the Maine [Agricultural Experiment Station](/source/Agricultural_Experiment_Station) in [Orono, Maine](/source/Orono%2C_Maine). In 1928, he left Orono to take a teaching position in Harvard's genetics department at the Bussey Institution. However, the department was dissolved before his arrival, and he transferred to the cytology department at the university's Biological Laboratories in Cambridge, Massachusetts. === Contribution to radiation cytology=== right|thumb|180px|''Forsythia x intermedia'' 'Karl Sax' In 1938 Sax published a paper on chromosome aberrations,{{cite journal | doi= 10.1093/genetics/23.5.494|title = Chromosome Aberrations Induced by X-rays |journal = Genetics|year = 1938 |volume = 23|number = 5|pages = 494–516 |first = Karl|last = Sax |pmc = 1209022}} which demonstrated that radiation could induce major [genetic](/source/Genetics) changes by affecting [chromosomal translocations](/source/chromosomal_translocations), a [chromosome abnormality](/source/chromosome_abnormality). The paper is thought to mark the beginning of the field of radiation cytology, and led him to be called the "father of radiation cytology." ===Plant breeding=== Sax bred new varieties of ornamental trees and shrubs including ''[Malus](/source/Malus)'' species (both [apples](/source/apples) and [crabapples](/source/Malus)), [magnolia](/source/magnolia)s, [forsythia](/source/forsythia)s, and [cherries](/source/cherries). He hybridized two Japanese cherries, ''[Prunus subhirtella](/source/Prunus_subhirtella)'' and ''Prunus'' x ''yedoensis,'' then back-crossed the resulting hybrid with ''P. subhirtella,'' and named his cross ''Prunus Hally Jolivette'', in honor of his wife.{{cite web |url=http://www.hort.uconn.edu/plants/p/pruhal/pruhal1.html |title=Prunus Hally Jolivette |accessdate=2010-03-16 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100410023922/http://www.hort.uconn.edu/plants/p/pruhal/pruhal1.html |archivedate=2010-04-10 }} A cultivar of ''[Forsythia](/source/Forsythia)'' bred by Sax was named 'Karl Sax' by a nurseryman. In 1946, he was appointed acting director of Harvard's [Arnold Arboretum](/source/Arnold_Arboretum), becoming the director in 1947, a post he held until 1954.{{cn|date=April 2024}} ===Demography=== Sax was also interested in human demography. In 1955, he wrote ''Standing Room Only: The Challenge to Overpopulation'', on the consequences of uncontrolled human population growth.{{cite journal|last1=Tyler|first1=David B.|title=Review of ''Standing Room Only. The Challenge of Overpopulation'' by Karl Sax|journal=The Quarterly Review of Biology|volume=31|issue=2|year=1956|page=166|issn=0033-5770|doi=10.1086/401383}} Sax became associated with [Planned Parenthood](/source/Planned_Parenthood) and was a member of the Population Association of America. ==Honors== Sax was an elected member of the [National Academy of Sciences](/source/United_States_National_Academy_of_Sciences) and the [American Academy of Arts and Sciences](/source/American_Academy_of_Arts_and_Sciences). In 1966, he and Hally were co-recipients of the [Mary Soper Pope Memorial Award](/source/Mary_Soper_Pope_Memorial_Award) in botany.[http://www.cranbrook.edu/sites/default/files/ftpimages/120/misc/misc_35342.pdf "Cranbrook Institute of Science Director's Papers"]. Cranbrook website. Retrieved Dec. 27, 2016. In 1959, he retired and moved to [Media, Pennsylvania](/source/Media%2C_Pennsylvania), where he continued his work on plant breeding. Karl Sax died on October 8, 1973, aged 80, at Bryn Mawr Hospital, [Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania](/source/Bryn_Mawr%2C_Pennsylvania), U.S. {{botanist|Sax}} ==References== {{Reflist}} *[https://www.nytimes.com/1973/10/10/archives/dr-karl-sax-dies-botanist-was-81-long-a-harvard-professorled.html?_r=0 "Dr. Karl Sax Dies"]. ''New York Times'', Oct. 10, 1973. *Smocovitis, V. B. Sax, Karl. ''American National Biography Online''. Oxford University Press *Swanson, C. P. 1988. Cytogenetics and Karl Sax. ''Genetics'' 119:5–7 ==External links== *[https://web.archive.org/web/20060918041810/http://newton.nap.edu/books/0309037298/html/372.html Biographical Memoir of Karl Sax] written by Carl P. Swanson and Norman H. Giles for the U.S. [National Academy of Sciences](/source/United_States_National_Academy_of_Sciences), a superb source of information about Sax and his work {{Authority control}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Sax, Karl}} Category:1892 births Category:1973 deaths Category:20th-century American botanists Category:Arnold Arboretum Category:American geneticists Category:Washington State University alumni Category:Bussey Institution alumni Category:University of California, Berkeley faculty Category:Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences Category:United States Army soldiers Category:United States Army personnel of World War I Category:People from Colville, Washington --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Karl Sax](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karl_Sax) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karl_Sax?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.