Special Collections Department
403 Parks Library
Iowa State University
Ames, IA 50011-2140

RS 9/15/12
John Gowen (1893-1967)
Papers, 1915-1982


Descriptive summary

creator:

Gowen, John (1893-1967)
title:

Papers
dates:

1915-1982
extent:

1.26 linear feet (3 document boxes)
collection number:

RS 9/15/12
repository:

University Archives, Special Collections Department, Iowa State University.

 

Administrative information

access:

Open for research
publication rights:

Consult Head, Special Collections Department
preferred citation:

John Gowen Papers, RS 9/15/12, Special Collections Department, Iowa State University Library.

 

Biographical note

John Whittemore Gowen was born to Charles Hayes and Gertrude Whittemore Gowen on 5 September 1893 in Evinston, Florida. He received his B.S. (1914) and M.S. (1915) from University of Maine and his Ph.D. (1917) in zoology from Columbia University. Gowen was a biologist (1917-1926) at the Maine Agricultural Experimental Station and later worked for the Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research (1926-1937) as a research associate.

Gowen came to Iowa State College (University) as Professor (1937-1964) in the Department of Genetics. He became Head of the Department (1948-1959). After his retirement from Iowa State, he served as Professor (1964-1967) of radiation biology and genetics at Colorado State University.

Gowen excelled as a researcher and as an instructor. He taught courses on elementary and advanced genetics at Iowa State. His research explored the factors involved in the expression of the inheritance found in the fertilized egg and he also studied disease resistance in genes. Gowen also did extensive research with irradiation.

He was a member of the Biometric Society, American Genetic Association, Institute of Mathematical Statistics, American Association for the advancement of science, and American Naturalists and served as the President of the Genetics Society of America in 1952 and Vice President of American Society of Zoologists in 1950. Gowen was also a member of Sigma Xi, Phi Kappa Phi, and Phi Beta Kappa.

Gowen married Marie Helena Stadler on September 10, 1917. Together they had two children, Elaine Stadler and Helen Marie. John Gowen died on 14 September 1967 in Fort Collins, Colorado.

 

Collection description

This collection (1915-1982) contains biographical information, a bibliography of Gowen's writings, and materials on graduate genetics courses dealing with irradiation, serological genetics, human inheritance, and sex ratios and sex determination. Reference materials are also included, documenting silkworms, gene crossing, radiobiology, bird and animal antigens, and mutation rates in bacteria.

 

Organization

This collection is organized chronologically.

 

Container list

Box

Folder

Title

Dates

1

1

Biographical Information

1939-1982,
n.d.

1

2

Bibliography of scientific papers by John W. Gowen

1973

1

3

Materials on Silkworm

1915-1935

1

4

Material for Genetics 535

1915-1936

1

5

Reference Material

1916

1

6

Material on Crossing-Over

1916-1933

1

7

Material on Sex effects on Crossing-Over

1919-1938

1

8

Reference Materials: Method of Gene Action - Dosage of Gene

1921-1939

1

9

Genetics 535 - Statistics of Irradiation

1922-1941

1

10

Genetics 535 - Genetics of Irradiation

1923-1942

1

11

Genetics 535 - Serological Genetics

1923-1943

2

1

Reference Materials

1926-1929

2

2

Reference Materials- Radiobiology

1930

2

3

Genetics 535 - Sex Determination and Sex Ratio

1931

2

4

Reference Materials

1931

2

5

Genetics 535 - Human Inheritance

1932-1946

2

6

Materials for Genetics 535

1933-1936

2

7

Genetics 535 - Hybrid Vigor

1934-1947

2

8

Reference Materials - Radiation

1935

2

9

Materials on Bird and Animal Antigens

1936-1945

3

1

Disease Resistance - Papers

1939-1946

3

2

Reference Materials

1940

3

3

Material for Genetics 635

1940-1942

3

4

Materials on Crossing-Over

1941

3

5

Genetics 535 - Mode of action of gene mutants

1942-1945

3

6

Genetics 535 - Serological Genetics the Rh Factor

1942-1945

3

7

Papers which give methods for determining Mutation rates in Bacteria

1942-1945

3

8

Mutation Papers

1946

3

9

Rutgers University Materials

1949-1954