1910-1996

American geneticist who discovered how histones control gene activity. Attempting to understand chromosome control, Bonner isolated genes and found that they could be turned on or off by the action by a protein histone. Bonner received his Ph.D. in plant physiology and genetics from California Institute of Technology in 1934, where he taught for more than four decades. He contributed to several scientific fields, including 500 publications and 10 books in three dozen fields of inquiry.