CHEMIST

Maclyn McCarty

1911 - 2005

Photo of Maclyn McCarty

Icon of person Maclyn McCarty

Maclyn McCarty (June 9, 1911 – January 2, 2005) was an American geneticist, a research scientist described in 2005 as "the last surviving member of a Manhattan scientific team that overturned medical dogma in the 1940s and became the first to demonstrate that genes were made of DNA." He had worked at Rockefeller University "for more than 60 years." 1994 marked 50 years since this work's release. McCarty devoted his life as a physician-scientist to studying infectious disease organisms, and was best known for his part in the monumental discovery that DNA, rather than protein, constituted the chemical nature of a gene. Uncovering the molecular secret of the gene in question — that for the capsular polysaccharide of pneumococcal bacteria — led the way to studying heredity not only through genetics but also through chemistry. The team responsible for this feat is known as the Avery–MacLeod–McCarty experiment. Read more on Wikipedia

His biography is available in different languages on Wikipedia. Maclyn McCarty is the 394th most popular chemist (up from 460th in 2019), the 4,061st most popular biography from United States (up from 5,566th in 2019) and the 77th most popular American Chemist.

Memorability Metrics

Loading...

Page views of Maclyn McCarty by language

Loading...

Among CHEMISTS

Among chemists, Maclyn McCarty ranks 394 out of 602Before him are Charles Frédéric Gerhardt, George Sarton, Mathieu Orfila, Heinrich Rose, Nicolas Lemery, and Fausto Elhuyar. After him are Adolph Frank, Ferdinand Reich, Eric Betzig, Jennifer Doudna, Koichi Tanaka, and Otto Ambros.

Most Popular Chemists in Wikipedia

Go to all Rankings

Contemporaries

Among people born in 1911, Maclyn McCarty ranks 143Before him are Sidney Wood, José María Arguedas, Mikhail Yangel, Merle Oberon, Mstislav Keldysh, and Aliya bint Ali. After him are William T. Stearn, Tilly Fleischer, George Borg Olivier, Leah Goldberg, Otakar Vávra, and Mirzo Tursunzoda. Among people deceased in 2005, Maclyn McCarty ranks 113Before him are George P. Cosmatos, Eddie Guerrero, Corrado Bafile, Frits Philips, Maurice Hilleman, and Jair da Rosa Pinto. After him are Tonino Delli Colli, Sandra Dee, Alain Bombard, Tilly Fleischer, Polina Astakhova, and Edward Bunker.

Others Born in 1911

Go to all Rankings

Others Deceased in 2005

Go to all Rankings

In United States

Among people born in United States, Maclyn McCarty ranks 4,061 out of 20,380Before him are Sam Giancana (1908), Mira Sorvino (1967), Luther Burbank (1849), Morgan Taylor (1903), Colleen Hoover (1979), and Desmond Child (1953). After him are Mabel Normand (1892), John McCook (1944), Tim Buckley (1947), Martin Brest (1951), Laurens Hammond (1895), and Johnny Horton (1925).

Among CHEMISTS In United States

Among chemists born in United States, Maclyn McCarty ranks 77Before him are Louis E. Brus (1943), Alexander Shulgin (1925), Alice Ball (1892), Albert Ghiorso (1915), Edward Calvin Kendall (1972), and Isabella Karle (1921). After him are Eric Betzig (1960), Jennifer Doudna (1964), Roy J. Plunkett (1910), George Church (1954), Frank Wigglesworth Clarke (1847), and James Crafts (1839).