Ursula Mittwoch edit
Ursula Mittwoch (March 21, 1924 - April 26, 2021) was a Jewish geneticist. After fleeing from Nazi persecution in Berlin, Mittwoch and her family relocated to the UK in 1938. She was the first PhD student in the Galton Laboratory of University College London and later became a professor. Her work helped to demonstrate that sex determination is not a switch but rather a spectrum.
Ursula Mittwoch | |
|---|---|
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| Born | March 21, 1924 |
| Died | April 26, 2021 UK |
| Nationality | Jewish |
| Alma mater | University of London PhD University College of London |
| Known for | Genetics, Sex determination, Translation |
| Spouse | Bernard Victor Springer |
| Children | 1 |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Genetics |
| Institutions | 1943 - 1947 John Innes Horticultural Centre University College of London |
| Thesis | (1950) |
| Doctoral advisor | H. Kalmus |
| Other academic advisors | Lionel Penrose |
Early Life and education edit
Mittwoch was born in Berlin, Germany on March 21, 1924. She was the first of three daughters of Anna Hermine née Lipmann and Eugen Mittwoch the professor of Oriental language at Friedrich Wilhelm University and founder of Modern Islamic Studies in Germany.
She attended a small private humanistic gymnasium where she learned Latin as her first foreign language until 1938[1]. Her interest in science was fostered through gifts of Brehms Tierleben books[2]. Her education was cut short for two reasons. In 1933 her father was forced to retire from his academic position by Hitler and Hermann Göring[3]. The Mittwoch family decided to emigrate to the United Kingdom Kristallnacht.
Obtained her bachelors from Chelsea polytechnic, London 1947.
Academic career and research edit
Mittwoch translated Letalfaktoren in ihrer Bedeutung für Erbpathologie und Genphysiologie der Entwicklung by Ernst Hadorn into Developmental genetics and lethal factors[4][5].
Works edit
- Genetics of Sex Differentiation (1973)[6]
Personal Life edit
Mittwoch married Bernard Victor Springer on December 21, 1954. They had one daughter together.
Membership and achievements edit
- Royal Society of Medicine
- Zoological Society
- British Genetical Society
https://www.ucl.ac.uk/biosciences/news/2021/apr/professor-ursula-mittwoch-21031924-26042021
https://wellcomecollection.org/works/nq22xx3d
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/ajmg.1320550104
https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10145460/1/Ursula%20Mittwoch%20obituary.pdf
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/ahg.12461
https://digital.csic.es/bitstream/10261/235794/1/Women_in_Early_%20Human_Cytogenetics.pdf
Looking for ~10 different sources. Preferably with a comprehensive obituary.
John turnipseed https://johnturnipseed.com/
ex. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5560522/, https://www.jfcr.or.jp/princehitachiprize/e/2000.html
- https://www.jstor.org/ to find old scientific papers
- https://www.familysearch.org/en/ for family/personal information
- https://www.hathitrust.org/ for old papers (not scientific)
- newspapers.com for U.S. newspapers (will cost $)
- Wikipedia:WikiProject Women in Red/Missing articles by occupation/Biologists for new person
- ^ Mittwoch, Ursula (1995-01-02). "Living history—biography". American Journal of Medical Genetics. 55 (1): 3–11. doi:10.1002/ajmg.1320550104. ISSN 0148-7299.
- ^ Mittwoch, Usula (March 2, 2004). "INTERVIEW WITH PROFESSOR URSULA MITTWOCH, 2nd MARCH, 2004" (PDF) (Interview). Interviewed by Peter Harper. European Society of Human Genetics. Retrieved October 5, 2023.
- ^ "Dismissal Letter for Professor Eugen Mittwoch". perspectives.ushmm.org. Retrieved 2023-10-05.
- ^ "Developmental genetics and lethal factors / Ernst Hadorn ; translated by Ursula Mittwoch". Wellcome Collection. Retrieved 2023-10-05.
- ^ Dobzhansky, Theodosius (1961-08-11). "Fatal Genes: Developmental Genetics and Lethal Factors . Ernst Hadorn. Translated by Ursula Mittwoch. Methuen, London; Wiley, New York, 1961. xviii + 355 pp. Illus. $8.50". Science. 134 (3476): 381–381. doi:10.1126/science.134.3476.381.b. ISSN 0036-8075.
{{cite journal}}: line feed character in|title=at position 13 (help) - ^ Mittwoch, Ursula (1973). Genetics of sex differentiation. New York London: Academic Press. ISBN 978-0-12-501040-5.