Willard Myron Allen
Encyclopedia
Willard Myron Allen was an American gynecologist. He was born in 1904 in Farmington, New York
, near Rochester, New York
. As an undergraduate student at Hobart College (now Hobart and William Smith Colleges) in Geneva, New York, Allen had studied organic chemistry
. This would come in handy for his medical school research that would reserve a special place for him in the annals of medical history. He graduated from Hobart in 1926, and was awarded an honorary D.Sc. degree in 1940 for his medical discoveries at the University of Rochester
.
Allen studied medicine at the University of Rochester and supported himself by working as an assistant in his anatomy professor, George W. Corner’s embryology laboratory. Corner and Allen are credited with the discovery of progestin, the original name for progesterone and not to be confused with progestin
, a synthetic progestagen
, in 1930 and the first isolation of progesterone
in 1933 (described below and in W.M. Allen "My Life with Progesterone", 2005 below). He graduated with honors in 1932. After several years of teaching at Rochester, Allen was appointed professor and chairman of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Washington University's School of Medicine in St. Louis. He contributed original papers on the histology and physiology of the female reproductive organs, bringing him many national and international awards. He was the first graduate of the Medical School in Rochester to be elected to that university's board of trustees.
When Allen joined Washington University in 1940, he was the youngest chairman of a clinical department. He served as chairman for thirty years until his retirement from Washington University to accept the position of Dean of Admnissions at the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore.
Co-Discoverer who named the universal pregnancy maintaining hormone progesterone. 1
Considerable space has been devoted to the world-changing, female hormone progesterone. But little has been written about its remarkable discoverer, Willard M. Allen.
The day Allen isolated pure progestin (later named by him progesterone) was a very significant day in his life.
"... The isolation of the hormone from the waxy material obtained by high-vacuum distillation was a laborious and exasperating experience. However, the month of May 1933 was a glorious month. On May 5, I had the crystalline corpus luteum hormone. On May 18, my daughter, Lucille, was born. My friends gave me double congratulations and I was sitting on top of the world. ..."2
Farmington, New York
Farmington is a town located in the northern part of Ontario County, New York, United States. The population was 10,585 at the 2000 census. Farmington is about twenty-five miles southeast of Rochester, New York...
, near Rochester, New York
Rochester, New York
Rochester is a city in Monroe County, New York, south of Lake Ontario in the United States. Known as The World's Image Centre, it was also once known as The Flour City, and more recently as The Flower City...
. As an undergraduate student at Hobart College (now Hobart and William Smith Colleges) in Geneva, New York, Allen had studied organic chemistry
Organic chemistry
Organic chemistry is a subdiscipline within chemistry involving the scientific study of the structure, properties, composition, reactions, and preparation of carbon-based compounds, hydrocarbons, and their derivatives...
. This would come in handy for his medical school research that would reserve a special place for him in the annals of medical history. He graduated from Hobart in 1926, and was awarded an honorary D.Sc. degree in 1940 for his medical discoveries at the University of Rochester
University of Rochester
The University of Rochester is a private, nonsectarian, research university in Rochester, New York, United States. The university grants undergraduate and graduate degrees, including doctoral and professional degrees. The university has six schools and various interdisciplinary programs.The...
.
Allen studied medicine at the University of Rochester and supported himself by working as an assistant in his anatomy professor, George W. Corner’s embryology laboratory. Corner and Allen are credited with the discovery of progestin, the original name for progesterone and not to be confused with progestin
Progestin
A progestin is a synthetic progestogen that has progestinic effects similar to progesterone. The two most common uses of progestins are for hormonal contraception , and to prevent endometrial hyperplasia from unopposed estrogen in hormone replacement therapy...
, a synthetic progestagen
Progestagen
Progestogens are a group of hormones including progesterone.The progestogens are one of the five major classes of steroid hormones, in addition to the estrogens, androgens, mineralocorticoids, and glucocorticoids. All progestogens are characterized by their basic 21-carbon skeleton, called a...
, in 1930 and the first isolation of progesterone
Progesterone
Progesterone also known as P4 is a C-21 steroid hormone involved in the female menstrual cycle, pregnancy and embryogenesis of humans and other species...
in 1933 (described below and in W.M. Allen "My Life with Progesterone", 2005 below). He graduated with honors in 1932. After several years of teaching at Rochester, Allen was appointed professor and chairman of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Washington University's School of Medicine in St. Louis. He contributed original papers on the histology and physiology of the female reproductive organs, bringing him many national and international awards. He was the first graduate of the Medical School in Rochester to be elected to that university's board of trustees.
When Allen joined Washington University in 1940, he was the youngest chairman of a clinical department. He served as chairman for thirty years until his retirement from Washington University to accept the position of Dean of Admnissions at the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore.
Co-Discoverer who named the universal pregnancy maintaining hormone progesterone. 1
Considerable space has been devoted to the world-changing, female hormone progesterone. But little has been written about its remarkable discoverer, Willard M. Allen.
The day Allen isolated pure progestin (later named by him progesterone) was a very significant day in his life.
"... The isolation of the hormone from the waxy material obtained by high-vacuum distillation was a laborious and exasperating experience. However, the month of May 1933 was a glorious month. On May 5, I had the crystalline corpus luteum hormone. On May 18, my daughter, Lucille, was born. My friends gave me double congratulations and I was sitting on top of the world. ..."2