Lynn Margulis
Early Life and Education
Lynn Margulis was born on March 5, 1938, in Chicago, Illinois. She was the eldest of four daughters. Her parents, Morris Alexander and Leone Wise Alexander, were both attorneys. Margulis showed an early interest in biology, and she would often collect and catalog local flora and fauna in her neighborhood.
Margulis attended the University of Chicago, where she earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Liberal Arts in 1957. She then went on to pursue her graduate studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where she received her Master's degree in Genetics and Zoology in 1960. Margulis completed her Ph.D. in Genetics at the University of California, Berkeley in 1965.
Career and Research
Margulis began her academic career as a research assistant at the University of California, Berkeley. In 1966, she moved to Boston University, where she served as an assistant professor in the Department of Biology. In 1988, she joined the faculty of the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where she worked until her retirement in 2010.
Margulis is best known for her theory of endosymbiosis, which she first proposed in the 1960s. This theory suggests that complex cells, or eukaryotes, evolved from the symbiotic relationship between simpler, prokaryotic organisms. This was a revolutionary idea at the time, and it faced significant opposition from the scientific community. However, Margulis persisted in her research, and her theory is now widely accepted.
In addition to her work on endosymbiosis, Margulis made significant contributions to the field of microbiology. She proposed that mitochondria and chloroplasts, the energy-producing organelles in eukaryotic cells, were once free-living bacteria that were engulfed by a host cell. This theory, known as the serial endosymbiosis theory (SET), has had a profound impact on our understanding of cell evolution and the origin of life.
Legacy and Honors
Margulis's contributions to science have been widely recognized. In 1999, she was awarded the National Medal of Science, the highest honor for scientists in the United States. In 2008, she was named a Distinguished Professor by the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
Despite her many achievements, Margulis remained a controversial figure throughout her career. Her theories often challenged established scientific paradigms, and she was known for her outspoken and sometimes contentious nature. However, her work has had a lasting impact on the field of biology, and she is remembered as a pioneering and influential scientist.
Personal Life and Death
Margulis was married twice. Her first husband was astronomer Carl Sagan, with whom she had two children. Her second husband was crystallographer Thomas N. Margulis, with whom she had a son and a daughter. Margulis died on November 22, 2011, in Amherst, Massachusetts.