Curt Richter

{{Short description|American biologist and geneticist}}

{{more citations needed|date=March 2013}}{{Infobox scientist

| name = Curt Paul Richter

| birth_date = 20 February 1894

| birth_place = Denver, Colorado, United States

| death_date = 21 December 1988

| death_place = Baltimore, Maryland

| nationality = American

| alma_mater = Harvard University
Johns Hopkins University

| awards = Karl Spencer Lashley Award {{small|(1980)}}

}}

Curt Paul Richter (February 20, 1894 – December 21, 1988) was an American biologist, psychobiologist and geneticist who made important contributions in the field of circadian rhythms. Notably, Richter identified the hypothalamus as a "biological pacemaker" involved in sleeping and wakefulness. In particular, this region suspected by Richter was later identified as the suprachiasmatic nucleus.{{Cite journal|last=Schulkin|first=Jay|date=1989|title=In honor of a great inquirer: Curt Richter| url= https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.3758/BF03337826.pdf|journal=Psychobiology|volume=17|issue=2|pages=113–114|doi=10.3758/BF03337826|s2cid=142406318}}

Early life, family and education

Richter was born on February 20, 1894, in Denver, Colorado, to German immigrants from Saxony, Germany. Richter's father was an engineer who owned a steel and iron firm in Denver.

In 1912, Richter studied engineering at a Technische Hochschule in Germany, but he left after the outbreak of World War I in 1914, switching to Harvard University where he studied biology under William E. Castle. Due to Richter's lack of experience with biology, Castle advised that he drop the course, so he switched to psychology instead, studying under E. B. Holt and Robert Yerkes. He graduated from Harvard in 1917 and, after a brief tour in the United States Army, studied under John Watson at Johns Hopkins University.{{Cite web|title=Curt Paul Richter {{!}} American biologist| url= https://www.britannica.com/biography/Curt-Paul-Richter| website= Encyclopedia Britannica |language= en| access-date=2020-04-30}}{{cite journal |last1=Blass |first1=Elliott M. |title=Curt Paul Richter: 1894-1988 |journal=The American Journal of Psychology |date=1991 |volume=104 |issue=1 |pages=143–146 |jstor= 1422856 |url= https://www.jstor.org/stable/1422856 |access-date=28 April 2021 |issn= 0002-9556}}

Work

Richter induced need states in experimental animals by depriving them of substances essential to survival, or manipulating their hormone levels. He showed that these need states generate appetites, and behaviors precisely fitting the animal's need even if the animal had never before experienced the need; demonstrating genetic programming of behavior. He also triggered other pre-programmed behaviors, such as nest building, by manipulating hormone levels.{{cite book| first=Derek | last= Denton|author-link= Derek Denton|title=The Primordial Emotions: The Dawning of Consciousness| date=8 June 2006| page= 51| publisher=Oxford University Press| isbn= 978-0-19-920314-7}}

Richter was elected to the United States National Academy of Sciences in 1948,{{Cite web |title=Curt P. Richter | publisher = National Academy of Sciences |url= http://www.nasonline.org/member-directory/deceased-members/51236.html |website= nasonline.org |access-date= 2022-12-08}} the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1956,{{Cite web |title=Curt Paul Richter |url= https://www.amacad.org/person/curt-paul-richter |access-date=2022-12-08 |website= amacad.org | publisher= American Academy of Arts and Sciences |language=en}} and the American Philosophical Society in 1959.{{Cite web |title=APS Member History |url= https://search.amphilsoc.org/memhist/search?creator=Curt+Richter&title=&subject=&subdiv=&mem=&year=&year-max=&dead=&keyword=&smode=advanced |website=search.amphilsoc.org | publisher = American Philosophical Society| access-date=2022-12-08 }}

References

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