William Keith Brooks

[1] Brooks was proficient in many subjects, including Greek and biology, and as a young man was unsure where he wished to focus his studies.

[2] A year later he became a junior faculty member at Johns Hopkins University when it opened, teaching and researching marine biology.

[3] After marrying Amelia Katherine Schultz in 1878, Brooks founded the Chesapeake Zoological Laboratory.

[4] Commissioned by the state of Maryland to study the American oyster, Brooks’ findings led to the discovery that fertilization of this type of oyster, unlike the European form, occurred outside the body.

[6] During his research, Brooks performed studies on invertebrates, particularly germ cells, and found evidence to explain variation among species due to ancestral heredity as well as Charles Darwin’s theory of pangenesis.