Aldred Scott Warthin (October 21, 1866 − May 23, 1931) was an American pathologist whose research laid the foundation for understanding the heritability of certain cancers.
[2] As a young man he studied piano and earned a teacher's diploma from the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music in 1877.
He did postgraduate study in Vienna and Freiburg, then joined the faculty at the University of Michigan, where he remained for the rest of his career.
[6][7] It he argues in favor of the theory, popular at the time, of the genetic transmission of acquired traits and extols the importance of using Eugenics for the protection and improvement of the race.
The book ends with the following postscript: "CREDO :: I BELIEVE IN THE LAW * IN THE IMMORTALITY OF THE GERM PLASM AND THE CREATIVE * PROGRESSIVE EVOLUTION OF LIFE * IN THE VARIABILITY OF THE VALUE OF THE GERM PLASM THROUGH HEREDITY & ENVIRONMENT * IN THE TRANSMISSION OF ACQUIRED CHARACTERS * AND IN THE CONSCIOUS IMPROVEMENT OF THE RACE THROUGH THE LAWS OF VOLITIVE EUGENICS * I BELIEVE THAT THE AIM OF THE INDIVIDUAL LIFE IS THE PROTECTION * IMPROVEMENT AND CONTINUATION OF THE IMMORTAL GERM PLASM * ....." In 1895, a young seamstress of his acquaintance told him about her family's long history of cancer deaths.
[8] Intrigued, he researched her family's history, searching death records and administering questionnaires, and found multiple cases of cancer.
It took many decades before the heritability of cancer was finally accepted by the medical community, partly through the research of Henry T.
[11] He and his research associate developed the Warthin-Starry stain still used to demonstrate the presence of syphilis spirochetes.