Rollins Adams Emerson (May 5, 1873 – December 8, 1947) was an American geneticist who rediscovered the laws of inheritance established by Gregor Mendel.
Emerson was born on May 5, 1873, in tiny Pillar Point, New York, but when he was seven his family moved to Kearney County, Nebraska, where he attended public school and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
He enrolled in the College of Agriculture there, having developed an interest in the local flora and landscaping while quite young.
Using bean breeding techniques he set up an experiment to establish the same results as Mendel, of whom he had not heard at the time.
Cornell University, through Emerson's efforts, became a centre for maize genetics research.