Herman Nilsson-Ehle

Nils Herman Nilsson-Ehle (12 February 1873 – 29 December 1949) was a Swedish plant breeder and geneticist.

Nilsson was born in Skurup and educated at the University of Lund and as a student he joined the 1898-99 Jonas Stadling expedition to Siberia.

[2] He attempted to induce mutations in seeds by sending them up high in the atmosphere in hot-air balloons in the hope that cosmic rays would alter their genes.

He then became head of botany at the University of Lund followed by a position as professor of genetics at Akarp.

[4] He became interested in human genetic and helped found a State Institute of Race Biology in Uppsala in 1921 under Herman Lundborg which aimed to work on eugenics,[5] the improvement of the genetic quality of the people.