Colin S. Pittendrigh
Stanford University
October 13, 1918 - March 19, 1996
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Scientific Discipline: Evolutionary Biology Membership Type:
Member
(elected 1963)
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Colin S. Pittendrigh is often regarded as the “father of the biological clock” and founded the field of chronobiology, which studies cyclic phenomena in living organisms. He observed the circadian clocks of Drosophila and other species and provided a model for rhythm synchronization with light and dark cycles in a twenty-four hour period. He further showed that these rhythms remain constant without external clues, such as light and temperature.
Pittendrigh graduated from the University of Durham, England in 1940 with a B.S. in botany. He was assigned to service during WWII where he tracked the spread of malaria near military bases in Trinidad. He received his PhD from Columbia University in 1950 and became a professor of biology at Princeton University. He served on several committees within the National Academy of Sciences including the oceanography committee and the space science board. In 1969 he joined the faculty at Stanford where he founded the Human Biology program. He also directed the Hopkins Marine Station from 1976 to 1984 where he is credited with helping to rebuild the marine biology laboratory. He retired from active academic life in 1984.
