Record

Authorised form of namePunnett; Reginald Crundall (1875 - 1967); geneticist
Dates1875 - 1967
NationalityBritish
Place of birthTonbridge, Kent, England
Date of birth20 June 1875
Place of deathHis home in Bilbrook, near Minehead, Somerset, England
Date of death03/01/1967
OccupationGeneticist
Research fieldMorphology
Genetics
ActivityEducation: Tonbridge School; The Castle Preparatory School, Tonbridge; Clifton College; Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge BA (1898); MA (1901)
Career: Demonstrator in zoology at Cambridge (1902–05) where he joined a genetic study group under William Bateson; supported and pursued Mendelian genetics; wrote Mendelism (1905); Punnet and Bateson discovered some of the fundamental processes of Mendelian genetics, including linkage, sex determination, sex linkage, and the first example of autosomal (nonsexual chromosome) linkage; summarised his work on determination of sex in chickens in Heredity in Poultry (1923); with Michael Pease as his assistant, he created the first auto-sexing chicken breed, the Cambar, by transferring the barring gene of the Barred Rock to the Golden Campine; co-founded, with Bateson, the Journal of Genetics, which they jointly edited until Bateson’s death (1926); professor of Genetics at Cambridge (1912); Arthur Balfour Professor of Genetics (1912); retired (1940).
Membership categoryFellow
Date of election02/05/1912
Age at election37
ProposerGeorge Albert Boulenger; John Sstanley Gardiner; George Henry Falkiner Nuttall; Arthur Dendy; Robert Stawell Ball; Gilbert Charles Bourne
William Bateson; Adam Sedgwick; William Abbott Herdman; Sidney Frederic Harmer; Albert Charles Seward; John Bretland Farmer
Royal Society activityMedals and prizes:
Darwin Medal 1922
RelationshipsParents: George Punnett, builder and architect, and Emily Crundall.
Published worksRCN 18637
RCN 18639
RCN 18640
RCN 1392
RCN 1390
RCN 1377
RCN 1378
RCN 1387
RCN 1388
RCN 1389
RCN 1391
RCN 1393
RCN 8970
General contextCo-founded, with William Bateson, the Journal of Genetics in 1910.
Creator of the Punnett square, a tool still used by biologists to predict the probability of possible genotypes of offspring.
SourcesSources:
Bulloch's Roll; DNB (MP); DSB
Obituaries:
Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society 1967 vol 13 pp 309-326, plate, by F A E Crew
References:
Bernard Norton and E S Pearson, 'A Note on the Background to, and Refereeing of, R A Fisher's 1918 Paper "On the Correlation Between Relatives on the Supposition of Mendelian Inheritance"' in NR 1976-7 vol 31 pp 151-162
N R Ingram, 'All that you can't leave behind' in NR 2003 vol 57 pp 177-184
Virtual International Authority Filehttp://viaf.org/viaf/5715283
Royal Society codeNA8088
Archives associated with this Fellow
Reference numberTitleDate
MM/22/12Posctard from Sewall Wright, Ford Collins, Colorado, USA, to Prof RC Punnett7 September 1965
MM/22/13Letter from F S Morgan, The White Knight Poultry Farm, East Farleigh, Maidstone, Kent, to Prof R C Punnett5 March 1926
MS/868Some correspondence and papers of Reginald Crundall Punnett 1925-1968
RR/15/243Referee's report by Thomas George Bond Howes, on a paper 'The composition and variations of the pelvic plexus in acanthias vulgaris' by Reginald Crundell Punnett5 March 1901
RR/15/242Referee's report by Daniel John Cunningham, on a paper 'The composition and variations of the pelvic plexus in acanthias vulgaris' by Reginald Crundell PunnettMarch 1901
RR/16/173Referee's report by Francis Darwin, on report submitted to the Evolution Committee, II, regarding three papers 'Experimental Studies in the Physiology of Heredity' by William Bateson, E R Saunders and Reginald Crundall Punnett, 'Experiments with Poulty' by C C Hurst, and 'Some Experiments on Wheat-breeding' by Rowland Harry BiffenSeptember 1904
RR/16/171Referee's report by Francis Galton, on three papers 'Experimental Studies in the Physiology of Heredity' by William Bateson, E R Saunders and Reginald Crundall Punnett, 'Experiments with Poulty' by C C Hurst, and 'Some Experiments on Wheat-breeding' by Rowland Harry BiffenAugust 1904
NLB/20/179Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison, to Reginald Crundall Punnett, Caius College, Cambridge16 February 1900
NLB/19/539Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison, to Dr Hans Friedrich Gadow, Fellow of the Royal Society28 October 1899
NLB/19/350Copy letter from Michael Foster, to Edwin Ray Lankester, [Fellow of the Royal Society]22 August 1899
NLB/19/533Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison, to Dr Hans Friedrich Gadow, Fellow of the Royal Society26 October 1899
NLB/20/8Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison, to Professor James Cossar Ewart, Fellow of the Royal Society12 January 1900
NLB/23/1/47Copy letter from A H White, to Reginald Crundall Punnett, Fellow of the Royal Society29 August 1901
NLB/32/618Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison, to P Murray Thomson, 5 York Place, Edinburgh24 April 1906
NLB/32/801Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison, to Professor Sydney John Hickson, Fellow of the Royal Society28 May 1906
NLB/63/554Copy letter from William Bate Hardy, Secretary of the Royal Society and FRS; to Professor [Reginald Crundall] Punnett, FRS04 November 1922
NLB/47/329 Copy letter from John Rose Bradford, Secretary of the Royal Society to Professor R [Reginald] C [Crundall] Punnett FRS15 January 1912
NLB/55/727Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison, Assistant Secretary of the Royal Society; to [Professor Reginald Crundall] Punnett, FRS08 August 1918
RR/23/27Referee's report by Reginal Crundall Punnett, on a paper 'Correlation between relatives on the supposition of mendelian inheritance' by R A Fisher8 August 1916
RR/19/1Referee's report by Reginald Crundall Punnett, on a paper 'Transmission of environmental effects from parent to offspring in Simocephalus vetulus' by Wilfred Eade Agar[November 1912]
RR/41/57Referee's report by Reginald Crundall Punnett, on a paper 'A cytological demonstration of "genetic" crossing-over' by Cyril Dean DarlingtonJuly 1930
RR/28/128Referee's report by Reginald Crundall Punnett, on a paper 'Analytical studies on the factors causing the sexual display in the mountain-newt (Triton alpestris)' by Walter Finkler[July 1923]
NLB/54/650Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison, Assistant Secretary of the Royal Society; to Professor [Reginald Crundall] Punnett, FRS13 July 1917
RR/37/26Referee's report by Reginald Crundall Punnett, on a paper 'The inheritance of sinistrality in Limnoea peregra' by Arthur Edwin Boycott, C Diver, S Hardy and F M TurnerNovember 1928
RR/68/28Referee's report by Reginald Crundall Punnett, on a paper 'Heterochromatin in Triton' by Harold Garnet Callan[1941]
NLB/58/209Copy letter from [James Hopwood Jeans, Secretary of the Royal Society]; to Professor [Reginald Crundall] Punnett, FRS26 March 1920
RR/36/40Referee's report by John Bretland Farmer, on a paper 'Linkage groups and chromosome number in Lathyrus' by Reginald Crundall Punnett[October 1927]
RR/41/114Referee's report by Reginald Crundall Punnett, on a paper 'The results of testicular transplantation in brown leghorn hens' by A W Greenwood and J S S BlythJanuary 1930
NLB/58/780Copy letter from Edwin Deller, Assistant Secretary of the Royal Society; to Professor [Reginald Crundall] Punnett, FRS18 June 1920
RR/41/33Referee's report by Reginald Crundall Punnett, on a paper 'The inheritance of sinistrality in Limnaea peregra (Mollusca, Pulmonata)' by Arthur Edwin Boycott, C Diver, S L Garstang, and F M TurnerMay 1930
RR/43/68Referee's report by Reginald Crundall Punnett, on a paper 'Induced melanism in lepidoptera' by A W Mckenny HughesDecember 1931
NLB/60/366Copy letter from Francis Alexander Towle, Assistant Secretary of the Royal Society; to Professor [Reginald Crundall] Punnett, FRS21 January 1921
RR/14/225Referee's report by Daniel John Cunningham, on a paper 'On the formation of the pelvic plexus, with especial reference to the nervus collector in the genus Mustelus' by Reginald Crundall Punnettnd [November 1899]
RR/45/111Referee's report by Reginald Crundall Punnett, on a paper 'A genetical formula for the inheritance of intelligence in man' by C C Hurst[August 1932]
RR/14/226Referee's report by James Cossar Ewart, on a paper 'On the formation of the pelvic plexus, with especial reference to the nervus collector in the genus Mustelus' by Reginald Crundall Punnettnd [January 1900]
RR/55/155Referee's report by Reginald Crundall Punnett, on a paper 'A new sub-lethal colour mutation in the house mouse' by Hans GrünebergJune 1935
NLB/60/405Copy letter from William Bate Hardy, Secretary of the Royal Society; to Professor [Reginald Crundall] Punnett, FRS28 January 1921
RR/63/7Referee's report by Reginald Crundall Punnett, on a paper 'The experimental determination of the time of chromosome doubling' by Kenneth MatherMay 1937
RR/26/66Referee's report by Reginald Crundall Punnett, on a paper 'Studies in dedifferentiation I - Dedifferentiation in Echinus larvae, and it's relation to metamorphosis' by Julian Sorell Huxley[November 1921]
RR/28/90Referee's report by Reginald Crundall Punnett, on a paper 'The significance of an achondroplasia-like condition met with in cattle' by Francis Albert Eley Crew[April 1923]
RR/67/27Referee's report by Reginald Crundall Punnett, on a paper 'Cytological studies in oenothera with special reference to the relation of chromosomes to nucleoli' by P N BhaduriNovember 1939
RR/55/150Referee's report by Reginald Crundall Punnett, on a paper 'Variation in plumage response of brown leghorn capons to oestrone II—intradermal injection' by A W Greenwood and J S S BlythApril 1935
RR/53/75Referee's report by Reginald Crundall Punnett, on a paper 'Dominance in poultry' by Ronald Aylmer Fisher[December 1934]
RR/55/148Referee's report by Reginald Crundall Punnett, on a paper 'Variation in plumage response of brown leghorn capons to oestrone I-intramnuscular injection' by A W Greenwood and J S S BlythApril 1935
NLB/63/775Copy letter from Sir David Prain, Treasurer of the Royal Society and FRS; to Professor [Reginald Crundall] Punnett, FRS13 December 1922
RR/67/194Referee's report by Reginald Crundall Punnett, on a paper 'The genetical analysis of a sex-limited character in Drosophila melanogaster and its bearing on the evolution of secondary sexual characteristics' by Cecil Gordon and Frances Gordon22 May 1939
RR/68/20Referee's report by Reginald Crundall Punnett, on a paper 'The reproductive cycles of the British and Continental races of the Starling (Sturnus vulgaris L.)' by W A Bullough[1941]
RR/68/241Referee's report by Reginald Crundall Punnett, on a paper 'The selection of invisible mutations' by Kenneth Mather and L G Wigan[1942]
RR/68/40Referee's report by Reginald Crundall Punnett, on a paper 'Morbid mitosis and the activity of inert chromosomes in Sorghum' by Cyril Dean Darlington and P T Thomas22 May 1941
RR/68/393Referee's report by Reginald Crundall Punnett, on a paper 'The genetical activity of heterochromatin' by Kenneth Mather7 November 1943
NLB/65/30Copy letter from Francis Alexander Towle, Assistant Secretary of the Royal Society; to Sir Sidney [Frederic] Harmer, FRS16 July 1923
NLB/64/686Copy letter from Francis Alexander Towle, Assistant Secretary of the Royal Society; to Sir Sidney [Frederic] Harmer, K.B.E. FRS.4 June 1923
NLB/68/966Copy letter from Henry Hallett Dale, Secretary of the Royal Society; to Professor [Reginald Crundall] Punnett, FRS10 December 1925
NLB/68/908Copy letter from Francis Alexander Towle, Assistant Secretary of the Royal Society; to [William] Bateson Esq., FRS27 November 1925
NLB/69/672Copy letter from Francis Alexander Towle, Assistant Secretary of the Royal Society; to Prof. [Reginald Crundall] Punnett, FRS12 July 1926
EC/1912/16Punnett, Reginald Crundall: certificate of election to the Royal Society
IM/003699Punnett, Reginald Crundallnd
IM/GA/GAC/7509Punnett, Reginald Crundallnd
RR/16/172Letter from Sidney Frederic Harmer, to Robert William Frederick Harrison, regarding three papers 'Experimental Studies in the Physiology of Heredity' by William Bateson, E R Saunders and Reginald Crundall Punnett, 'Experiments with Poulty' by C C Hurst, and 'Some Experiments on Wheat-breeding' by Rowland Harry Biffen19 August 1904
NLB/19/532Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison, to Professor Edwin Ray Lankester, Fellow of the Royal Society26 October 1899
RR/16/174Referee's report by Walter Frank Raphael Weldon, on a paper 'Experimental Studies in the Physiology of Heredity' by William Bateson, E R Saunders and Reginald Crundall Punnett9 October 1904
RR/64/10Referee's report by Reginald Crundall Punnett, on a paper 'Dominance in poultry: feathered feet, rose comb, internal pigment and pile' by Ronald Aylmer Fisher[October 1937]
RR/68/74Referee's report by Reginald Crundall Punnett, on a paper 'The relation between nutrition and exhibition of the gene antennales (Drosophila melanogaster)' by C Gordon and James H Sang[1941]
NLB/68/902Copy letter from Francis Alexander Towle, Assistant Secretary of the Royal Society; to Sir Sidney Harmer, KBE, FRS25 November 1925
NLB/69/1Copy letter from Henry Hallett Dale, Secretary of the Royal Society; to Sir Sidney [Frederic] Harmer K.B.E. FRS10 December 1925
RR/47/90Referee's report by Reginald Crundall Punnett, on a paper 'The recent development of melanism in the larvæ of certain species of Lepidoptera, with an account of its inheritance in Selenia bilunaria esp' by John William Heslop-HarrisonApril 1932
RR/16/175Referee's report by Walter Frank Raphael Weldon, on reports to the Evolution Committee, II, regarding three papers 'Experimental Studies in the Physiology of Heredity' by William Bateson, E R Saunders and Reginald Crundall Punnett, 'Experiments with Poulty' by C C Hurst, and 'Some Experiments on Wheat-breeding' by Rowland Harry BiffenOctober 1904
RR/21/1Referee's report by Reginald Crundall Punnett, on a paper 'Experiments on inheritance in parthenogenesis' by Wilfred Eade Agar[June 1914]
RR/58/82Referee's report by Reginald Crundall Punnett, on a paper 'Competition between bivalents during chiasma formation' by Kenneth MatherJanuary 1936
MC/26/204Letter from [Reginald Crudnall] Punnett, Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, to the [Royal Society]3 February 1911
MC/27/127Letter from [John] Stanley Gardiner, The Royal Society, Burlington House, London, W, to The Assistant Secretary, Royal Society30 October 1912
MC/28/222Letter from [Reginald Crundall] Punnett, Gonville & Caius College, Cambridge, to [Robert] Harrison, [Royal Society]4 June 1913
MC/33/137Letter from [Reginald] Punnett, Whittingehame Lodge, Cambridge, to [William Bate] Hardy, [Royal Society]22 May 1918
MC/33/83Letter from [William Bate] Hardy, The Royal Society, Burlington House, London, W, to [Reginald Crundall] Punnett23 May 1918
MC/35Volume 35 of miscellaneous correspondence regarding business matters, sent to the Royal Society1921
MC/35/125Letter from [Reginald Crundall] Punnett, Wittingehame Lodge, Cambridge, to the Secretary of the Royal Society19 January 1921
MC/39Volume 39 of miscellaneous correspondence regarding business matters, sent to the Royal Society1925
MC/39/87Letter from [Reginald Crundall] Punnett, Whittingehame Lodge, Cambridge, to the Royal Society20 January 1925
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