Charles Benedict DavenportArticle Free Pass Charles Benedict
Davenport, (born June 1, 1866, Stamford, Conn., U.S.—died Feb.
18, 1944, Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y.), American zoologist who
contributed substantially to the study of eugenics (the
improvement of populations through breeding) and heredity and
who pioneered the use of statistical techniques in biological
research. After receiving a doctorate in zoology at Harvard
University in 1892, Davenport taught there until 1899, when he
left to join the faculty of the University of Chicago, where,
from 1901 to 1904, he was curator of the zoological museum. He
directed the department of genetics (1904–34) for the Station
for Experimental Evolution at Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y., and also
founded and directed the Eugenics Record Office (1910–34). While
teaching experimental morphology at Harvard, he used statistical
methods in population studies. Partly as a result of breeding
experiments with chickens and canaries, he was one of the first,
soon after 1902, to recogniz