Ernst Caspari

Ernst Wolfgang Caspari (October 24, 1909 – August 11, 1988) was a German-American geneticist known for his research on behavioral and developmental genetics.

Early life and education Caspari was born on October 24, 1909, in Berlin, Germany. He was one of four children of Wilhelm Caspari, a physiologist, and his wife Gertrud. Despite being from a Jewish family, Wilhelm and Gertrud were Protestants, as were their children: Ernst, Fred, Irene, and Max. 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.

Honors and awards Caspari was named a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 1942, and became a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1959. In 1979, he received the Dobzhansky Award from the Behavior Genetics Association.