Ernst Wolfgang Caspari (October 24, 1909 – August 11, 1988)[1] was a German-American geneticist known for his research on behavioral and developmental genetics.
Despite being from a Jewish family, Wilhelm and Gertrud were Protestants, as were their children: Ernst, Fred, Irene, and Max.
[4] Ernst attended the Kaiser-Friedrich-Schule in Berlin, followed by the Goethe-Gymnasium zu Frankfurt.
He decided he wanted to become a geneticist after reading a copy of Richard Goldschmidt's book Ascaris, eine Einführung in die Wissenschaft vom Leben für Jedermann as a Christmas present when he was 14.
At Lafayette, he met L. C. Dunn, with whom he subsequently collaborated on several topics in mouse genetics research.