This collection contains materials which relate to the history of genetics.
The APS collections include the papers of a number of Wright's contemporaries in genetics and evolutionary biology, notably
He appears as a correspondent in several other collections, including
Tape recordings of oral history interviews conducted by William Provine have been transferred to the APS recordings collections.
The Wright Papers were initially collected and organized by William Provine for his book,
Provine had arranged Wright's papers largely by subject, however at the APS the correspondence has been reorganized by correspondent. Records of Provine's arrangement are available.
Cite as: Sewall Wright Papers, American Philosophical Society.
The Sewall Wright Papers document the thought and professional activities of one of the 20th century's greatest quantitative evolutionary biologists. Containing Wright's professional correspondence, scattered research notes, and drafts of a small number of papers
As photgraphs from the collection are digitized, links to the digital versions of images are included in the inventory. You may also
One of the pioneers of quantitative genetics and evolutionary biology, Sewall Wright was born in Melrose, Massachusetts, to Philip Green Wright and Elizabeth Quincy Sewall Wright on December 21, 1889. He was, as he was fond of noting, the child of two cousins - the result of inbreeding. From early in his career, Wright contributed to emerging understandings of Darwinian natural selection and Mendelian genetics to lay the groundwork for modern population genetics and the Neo-Darwinian "modern synthesis." He made profound theoretical contributions in the theories of genetic drift and shifting balance, and was equally important in analyzing problems in the relationship of genotype and phenotype, biometrics, and biostatistics.
The hallmark of Wright's scientific work was his ability to combine experimental and theoretical approaches, and to apply novel mathematical and statistical methods to analyze problems in biology. Many of his theoretical insights took years to prove empirically, and others were so computationally intensive that they could not easily be tackled in the pre-computer era, but his influence, along with that of his friend, J.B.S. Haldane, and some-time antagonist, R. A. Fisher, helped reorient the disciplines of evolutionary biology and genetics along more rigorous, quantitive lines.
Wright's professional education began at Lombard College (BS, 1911), now defunct, and the University of Illinois (MS, 1912), from which he gained admission to Harvard. Opting to work on guinea pigs, one of the first groups of animals to be thoroughly studied by geneticists, Wright received his doctorate of science in 1915 for the lucidly-titled dissertation,
The U.S.D.A. was interested in having the brilliant young geneticist begin to analyze the extensive set of trait records they had gathered for their inbred guinea pig colonies established in 1906, all in the hope of applying the findings to improve livestock breeding. To make the connections between guinea pigs and swine, Wright felt it necessary first to develop a general theory of population genetics, which in turn, he argued, required more powerful and flexible statistical techniques than had previously been used. By 1918, Wright had worked out a new statistical approach, path analysis, which now has wide application in sociology, econometrics, and behavioral genetics, and with this new tool, began investigating some fundamental questions in inheritance and population genetics, delving into the relative influence of heredity and the environment in determining the appearance of traits.
By the early 1920s, Wright's methodological and theoretical approaches had matured, and he later believed that by the time he left the U.S.D.A. for the University of Chicago in 1926, he had developed most of his fundamental ideas about evolutionary processes. His first theoretical paper, the influential "Evolution in Mendelian populations," was written in 1925, though not published until 1931. Among the most controversial and far-reaching of his ideas was the theory of genetic drift, which was as widely misunderstood and misrepresented, according to Wright, as it was widely known, and which was the crux of a long-standing argument in the literature with R.A. Fisher, among others. Based on his findings, Wright suggested that small, random genetic changes ("drift") in small local populations can greatly increase the "field of variability" available for natural selection. The implications for understanding the speciation process and the rates and trajectories of evolutionary change were profound, and although controversial, his theory had a galvanizing influence on evolutionary studies, expanding the range of potential evolutionary mechanisms and invigorating debate over evolutionary mechanics. Although Wright is often said to have presented a "non-Darwinian" model for evolutionary change, he later insisted that what he had provided was instead a means of producing variability upon which the powerful forces of Darwinian natural selection could operate.
At the U.S.D.A. and at the University of Chicago, Wright also began to develop a view of evolution as consisting largely of "occasional shifts" from one state of genetic near equilibrium to another, rather than the progressivist paradigm that had dominated evolutionary studies (maintaining that evolution proceeded by the slow, incremental accumulation of small mutations and concentrating on the fixation of discrete characters). Perhaps more subtly, Wright also insisted upon focussing upon the evolution of "interaction systems" as opposed to isolated traits or organisms in isolation of their populations, laying the groundwork for understanding the evolutionary process as occurring at more than one hierarchically related levels. "An organism," he wrote, "is not a mere aggregation of characters, but a harmonious, tightly integrated entity," implying that this integration was as true at the level of the population as the gene. It would not be overstatement to suggest that Wright's theoretical, statistical, and empirical studies, in interaction with the work of Fisher, Haldane, George Gaylord Simpson, and others, were instrumental in fashioning the Neo-Darwinian synthesis of the 1940s, representing the firm fusion of Mendelian and Darwinian principles, and in galvanizing the macroevolutionary studies of the 1970s and 1980s.
At Chicago, Wright was employed (successively) as Associate Professor of Zoology, Professor, and the Ernest D. Burton Distinguished Service Professor, earning a reputation as a conscientious, demanding, and engaging teacher, who always incorporated the latest available information in his lectures. He also spent visiting years as Hitchcock Professor at the University of California Berkeley (1943) and as Fulbright Professor at the University of Edinburgh (1949-1950).
In 1955, Wright joined the faculty of the University of Wisconsin as Leon J. Cole Professor of Genetics, and worked for five years until his "retirement" in 1960. For Wright, though, retirement did not mean a slacking off of research. Virtually until the day of his death at age 98, Wright remained an active participant in the Genetics Department at Wisconsin as Professor Emeritus. Many of the 210 scientific papers he wrote during his career were published after his departure from Chicago -- literally up until the time of his death -- and his magnum opus, the four volume
Wright's professional associations were numerous, as were the laurels of his innovative and influential scientific career. He was awarded ten honorary doctorates during his lifetime, was president of five scientific organizations and the recipient of nine medals or prizes, and he held memberships in thirteen scientific societies or national and international organizations. In 1932, he was elected to membership in the American Philosophical Society.
Wright married Louise Lane Williams in 1921, with whom he had three children, Richard, Robert, and Elizabeth Quincy Wright Rose. Louise Wright died in 1975, followed by Sewall on March 3, 1988, in Madison.
Incoming and outgoing professional correspondence, with a lesser quantity of administrative and personal correspondence.
The bulk of Wright's professional correspondence concerns discussions, elaborations, or clarifications of his ideas with respect to those of other scientists, or commentary on papers submitted for publication. Wright frequently served as a referee or commentator for professional journals. Among the more interesting correspondence are letters concerned with the social implications of genetic theories and discussions of the relationship of science and politics.
Correspondence relating to Wright's administrative responsibilities date mostly from his years at the University of Chicago, or relate to his work with professional socities. The majority consists of recommendations, elections, candidates for positions or offices, and the definition of institutional goals and agendas. There is also some correspondence relating to honors and awards received by Wright.
Finally, a relatively small number of items are concerned with Wright's philosophical views.
In general, correspondence is filed alphabetically by author, then chronologically by date written. In instances in which letters were written on behalf of an institution, they are filed under the name of the institution rather than the author, per se.
Smith, M. Estelle
Iacono, Anthony
Demerec, M.
Clyde
Burhoe, Ralph W.; Davis, Saville
Colin, E.C.
Dictionary of American Biography; James, Edward T.
Pearlman, Sholom
Rommel, George M.
Opitz, John M.
Steinberg, Arthur G.
Blumer, Herbert
Freyder, Maydalene
Gates, William H.
Creese, James
Gillispie, Mrs. Charles C.
Hirsch, Jerry
Young, Donald
Carver, H.C.
Roman, Herschel
Luck, J, Murray; Harris, Marjorie R.; Davis, Esther
The Rare Varieties Cavy Club
Australian Legation to the USSR
Lillie, F. R.
Astaurou, Boris L.; On the dynamics of the Mutation Process in Man
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Bliss, C.I.
Cox, Gertrude
American Institute of Biological Sciences; Prescott, David M.
Corrigenda: Evolution
Creighton, Harriet B.
Black, W. H., Esq.
Lysenko, Trokim
Braddock, Mrs. James
Mating tables
Hartley, Harold
Bell, G.A.
Peter Buri - Correspondence, 1955-1956
National Medal of Science
Shimkin, Michael B.; Rush, Harold P.
University of Wyoming; National Academy of Science
Ernst Wilhelm Caspari - Correspondence, 1947-1965
Science Press
Brown, Stephen
Miller, O. H.
Burfeind, Nat T.
Willimantic Chronicle; Leader, R. W.
Committee on Aid to Geneticists Abroad
Auerbach, C.
Loeb, Robert F.; Hutchins, Dr.
Bowles, Gordan T.
Morton, N.E.; Chung, C. S.
Hazard, D. L.
Addison Wesley Publishing Co.
Hornung, Paul
Higgins, Elmer
Crow, James
Morris, Lawrence J.
Theodosius Dobzhansky - Correspondence, Folder 1, 1936-1940
Cirker, Hayward
Cleft palate study
Jackson Laboratory
Deevey, Edward S., Jr.
Gordon, Julie P.
Bonnier, G.
Geerts, S. J.
Schaffner, Joseph Halle; Einstein, Albert
Harrison, Ross G.
Kennan, George
Altman, Philip L.
O'Sheel, Patrick
Behavioral Genetics Association
Mrs, R. von Mises
Pontecorvo, G.; Brown, R. ; Fincham, J.R.S.
Chai, C.K.; Castle, Dr. .[Wm.]
Whitby, Pauline
Johnson, A. S.
National Medal of Science
Reimann, Stanley P.; Rahn, Otto
International Science Foundation
Dunn, H. H.
The Committee on the Handbook of Biological Data; Panel of Appraisers
Lord Bullock' s Dictionary of Modern Thought
Foster, Helen Louise
Chemistry Department
Turner, John R. C.
Hermann, E. R.
Reid, Anne A.
Stamler and Hall vs, Hon. Edwin E, Willis, et al
Lillie, Frank; Mason, Max
Laub, Julius I.
Fairchild; Govaerts, Albert
Karlin, Samuel; Nero, Eviator
Pearson, Jay F.W.; Cromes, Carey
Rice, Stuart A.
Gantt, Robert
Portrait of a Poet at College
Blalock, Alfred; Bard, Philip
Hutchins, Marjorie; Smith, Austin
Cornfield, Jerome; Gillispie, Charles
Cook, Robert C.
Morgan, T.H.
Crow, James
Little Brown and Co.
Aldrich, A. W.
Timlin, Gerie
Fairchild
Hideo Kikkawa - Correspondence, 1959
Kimura, Motoo
Motoo Kimura - Correspondence, 1966
Ken-Ichi Kojima - Correspondence, 1964-1970
Howard Levene - Correspondence, 1947-1969
Richard C. Lewontin - Correspondence, 1966
Liljedahl, Lars-Erik
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Nachtsheim, Hans
Little, "Pete"; Cattell, J. McKeen
Office of the Secretary of Defense
Smith, Charles E.
Boggs, William E.; Greene, Jay E.
McCurdy, H. B.; Morehouse, T.C.
Philosophy of Science
Mrs. T.H. Manning
Cowles Commission for Research in Economics
McPhee, Hugh C.
Berberian, S.K.
Hannah, John H.; Honorary Doctor of Science Degree
Grahame Book Co. Pty. Ltd .
Beadle, George
Perspectives in Biology and Medicine
Smith, Edwin S.
Masatoshi Nei - Correspondence, 1967-1981
Gofman, John W.; Tamplin, Arthur R.
Gordon, Myron; Miner, Eunice Thomas
Gordon, Myron
Holleander, Alexander
American Society for Human Genetics
Paleozoology Committee
Melville, P. C.; Hendry, A.
Schoff, Thomas J. M.; Hopson, James A.
Thomas Park - Correspondence, 1934-1972
Ingle, Dwight J.
Billman, Carl
Philosophy of Science Association; Churchman, C. West
Brown, Frank A. Jr.; Allee, W.C.
Prentice Hall, Inc.
Crawford, Bryce Jr.; Slichter, Charles P.; Carter, H.E.
Jepsen, Glenn L.
Bailey, Herbert S, Jr.
Nichols, Margaret; Glass, Bentley; Smolker, Rosemary
Metaphase Hatchability Charts
Symposium on Radiation Genetics; The Journal of Cellular and Comparative Physiology; The Wistar Institute of Anatomy and Biology
Barnes Richardson and Colburn
Hanson, Frank Blair
Gowen, John W.
N.V. Martinus Nijhoff Boekhande1
Evans, W.G.; Kaye, I.; Linstead, P.
Richey, J. E.
William L. Russell - Correspondence, 1940-1970
XI International Congress of Genetics; Genetics Society of America
Research and Development Board
Lillie, Frank
Federal Security Agency-Public Health Service; National Institutes of Health
Weldon Memorial Prize; Daniel Giraud Elliot Meda1
Allee, Warder Clyde
Navashin, M.S,; Levit, S.G,; Muller, Herman J.
Mathematics Research Center, United States Army
Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association
Cascade Speciation
Harrison, R. Wendell
Gettys, R.E.
United States Information Agency
Rau, George J.
Brown, R.
Karreman, George
Blackwelder, Richard E.
Turner, Ethel Louise
Sotola
Yearbook of Physical Anthropology
W. H. Freeman and Co. Publishers
Slatis, Herman M.
Curt Stern - Correspondence, 1932-1967
Atwood, Sanford S.; Carson, Hampton; Castle, William E.; Hess, Waiter N.; Hull, Fred H.; Jepsen, Glenn; Little, Clarence Cook; Scantlebury, R, E.
Cook, Clarence; Swift, Harold H.
U.A.R. Genetical Society; Egyptian Journal of Genetics and Cytology
Karlin, S.
Schweet, Richards
Penn, George H.
Tazima, Yataro
Leighty, C.E.
Snyder, Lawrence H.
Civil Aeronautics Authority
Watt, G.; Pifer, Alan; Powell, Monica
Jahn, Theodore L.; Sproul, Robert C.; Hitchock Professor Lectures; Lipman, Charles B.
Briggs, Fred N.; Clausen, Roy E.; Division of Agronomy; Division of Genetics
Ball, Gordon; Moore, Carl B.; Jahn, Theodore L.
Vasek, Frank C.; Department of Biology
Department of Zoology
Department of Zoology
Department of Zoology
Department of Zoology
Department of Zoology
Distinguished Service Professor; Daines, H. C.
Department of Zoology
The Galton Lecture
Honorary Doctor of Science Degree; Henry, David D.; Janata, A.J,; Mertz, David B.; Tyler Award
Miller, E. Morton
Laboratory of Vertebrate Biology
Forster, Robert E.; Silvers, Willys K.
Honorary Degree; Valentine, Alan
Brogan, A. P.
Parson, William
Scotton, James F.; Honorary Degree; Irwin, M. Robert; Simon, Clarke; Fred, E.B.; Harrington, Frederick Harvey
U.S. Lines Co.
Bruce Wallace - Correspondence, 1967
Wilson, James G.
Muller, Herman J.
Bobbs-Merrill Co., Inc .
Simon, Webster G.; Honorary Degree; Millis, John S.
Mathematics Research Center, United States Army
Farris, E.J.; Kaplan, Martin M.; Koprowski, Hilary; Kozinski, Andrzej W.; Moorehead, Paul S.; Ream, James S; Sturtevant, Mary E.
United Kingdom Scientific Missions
Lohmann, Carl; Boell, E. J.
Tsoong-Tsieu Yao - Correspondence, 1949
Encyclopaedia Britannica
Typewritten, handwritten, and published copies of papers written by Wright, submitted to him for review or comment, or garnered by him in the course of his research. The manuscripts are almost exclusively concerned with Wright's scientific interests, but also include some papers relating to his teaching.
Manuscripts are arranged by author, title, and year of publication, in that order.
Hand-written notes recording experimental results and statistics, compiled by Wright or others, or the analysis of primary data. In some cases, these notes relate to Wright's efforts to verify; presumably, some computations are applications of Wright's "path analysis," and others relate to his work as referee of other people's papers.
Manuscripts are arranged by author, title, and year of publication, in that order.
Related to the work of L. C. Dunn
Related to the work of J.B.S. Haldane
Related to the work of Hogben
Stanford data
Basic data for transect 1941-1966, original ce for 1957 not found 1966 [possibly re: work of Epling]
Re: work of Epling
Re: work of Dobzhansky
[possibly re: work of Dobzhansky] Genetics of natural populations (GNP) XIV, Dobzhansky June 3, 5, 11, 15, 16, 1945
Possibly re: GNP XVII originally or GNP XVIII as published, Dobzhansky 1948 Wallace
Bohren 1951
Reeves 1953
Re: work of Epling
[may be re:
Draft: Johnson-XI Congress Symbols in Mammalian Genetics
Cook-Sequential analysis, Macklin
Cook-copy of letter, Juan 24, 1951
Paper: Random mating with linkage in tetrasomatics
Notes: 2/4/56, Zygotic frequencies
[Corn?]
[Possibly re: work of Epling]
Data [projections 3/2/1959]
Clines, Epling, selection, random drift, unique recolonization, random drift-amplified selection, theory of open populations (isolation and distance)
[Re: work of Epling]
Frequencies as probabilities
Analysis-Old [Re: work of Epling]
Transect of x2
[
Analysis of variables [Re: work of Epling]
[
Analyses [Re: work of Epling]
[
[
[Re: work of Epling]
[
[
Rr allele
Frequencies of each pattern irrespecive of its original
Analysis of ultraviolet treated series [mutation detection]
Analysis of control series [mutation detection]
[Re: work of C.V. Green]
Fourteen folders containing resumes and outlines of Wright's life and career. Wright wrote detailed genealogical pieces on his family, with extensive commentary on his own life. Includes a published genealogy of the Wright family, and an illustrated booklet writen by Wright during his childhood.
Materials are arranged alphabetically
Characteristics of birds, notes taken by Sewall Wright
Corrections by Sewall Wright
Memories, Sewall Wright, 1980
Green notebook including: family history, theses under Wright's direction, courses, publications, honorary degrees, prizes, societies, offices held, members of the X-Club, Saturday Evening Club, and Wright genealogy
Wright's faculty record
Paperwork completed for year at Edinburgh
Boyhood book by Sewall Wright
Curriculum vita
Fifty eight folders of interview transcripts, prepared from 52 tape recordings made by William Provine during research for his book,
Manuscripts are arranged by author, title, and year of publication, in that order.
Mss corrections
Typed corrections
Fisher on dominance, pp. 12-18
Fisher on random drift, pp. 20-21
Samplings and other kinds of drift, pp. 21-26
Mss corrections
Mss corrections
Typed corrections
Selective diffusion and mass selection, p.8
1925 paper, pp. 9-10
Meets Fisher, p.9, and part II, p. 6
Fisher on dominance, pp. 11-13 and part II, p. 8-10
Plunkeet on dominance, p. 14
1925 paper-dropped out selection, part II, p.5
Sends 1925 paper to Fisher, part II, p. 7
Level to which Wright's theory of evolution was directed, part II, p. 16
Mss corrections
Typed corrections
Mss corrections
Typed corrections
Mss corrections
Typed corrections
Fisher on dominance, p. 8
1925 paper, p. 11
Mss corrections
Typed corrections
Castle, selection experiments on rats, p. 3-6
MacDowell, Castle and size inheritance, p. 6
Mss corrections
Typed corrections
Harvard Teachers, pp. 5-6
Jeffrey, [Wheeler]
[Sumner and Wirt], pp. 9-10
Mss corrections
Typed corrections
Castle on mutable genes, part X, p. 1
Wright's disapproval of random drift as source of non-adaptive characteristics in species, pp. 1-3.
An excellent discussion of the 1932 paper and Wright's emphasis upon random drift
Very useful for Wright's modern view of the role played by random drift
Confusions of the 1932 paper; excellent and very useful discussion
Mss corrections
Typed corrections
Fisher, p. 2
Fisher and dominance, pp. 3-9
My (William Provine's) inference about break-up after [Wright's] Review of genetical theory of natural selection, op. 6 [very important]
2 copies; Mss and typed corrections
Shifting balance, p.7
Mss corrections
Mss corrections
Typed corrections
Typed corrections
Genesis of Wright's evolutionary theory
Changes between 1925 6t 1932 papers, part II, p. 5
Wright x Fisher--corrections back and forth, 1929-30, part II, pp. 8-9
Mss corrections
Mss corrections, not in SW's handwriting
Very imp. tape on evolutionary theory, evolution of dominance, interaction with Fisher, 1931 and 1932 papers, etc.
Very important discussion of the papers after 1932 and comparisons with 1931 and 1932 papers. Especially 1937 PNAS paper. Says clearly that the 1931 paper was not up to his qualitative theory (p.6). Good discussion of part III of 1931 paper
Images of Wright, his family, and his colleagues. For the images used by William Provine in Sewall Wright and evolutionary biology, Provine's captions have been transcribed on the front of the folders. Charts and diagrams used in Provine's book are also included in this series.
Folders are arranged alphabetically by the subject of the photograph.
Provine Figure 9.1
Provine Figure 2.4
Provine Figure 2.1
Provine Figure 3.5
Provine Figure 5.3. Results of Wright's "Purely algebraic proof
Provine Figure 5.1
Provine Figure 5.5
Provine 5.9 (From Provine chapter, "Path coefficients and animal
Provine Figure 4.5
Provine Figure 3.4
Provine Figure 2.2
Provine Figure 9.2
Contents missing
Provine Figure 5.7
Provine Figure 4.7. "Semidiagrammatic ventral views of the head
Provine Figure 5.6
Provine Figure 4.6
Provine Figure 5.8. (From Provine Chapter, "Path Coefficients
Provine Figure 5.2
Provine Figure 8.1
Provine Figure 3.1
Provine Figure 9.3
Provine Figure 3.2
Provine 8.2
Identification sheet, no photograph
Sewall Wright, 1909/10?
Extended Wright family?
Provine Figure 1.2
Provine Figure 4.8
Provine Figure 4.2
Provine Figure 1.3
Provine Figure 1.3
Provine Figure 1.5. Railroad crew -- in mock defense pose
Similar to Provine Figure 4.1
Provine Figure 13.3
Provine Figure 13.2
Provine Figure 1.4
unspecified
Provine Figure 1.3