A Brief History of

Biology
By Brianna Massey
 What is biology?
Biology is the study of living organisms and all aspects of life-
whether that be through function of cells on a microscopic
level or examination of a specific species as a whole.

It is not known when exactly the field of biology began, as life

has always been around us, and discoveries continue to this
day.
Aristotle
Though typically known for his many other
contributions, he was also one of the first
individuals to extensively study and categorize
animals based on their different traits.
1400’s: Leonardo Da
Vinci
Similar to Aristotle, Da Vinci is much better known
for his work as an artist, however, he studied
anatomy in order to better understand muscles in
the body. However, he saw his work as strictly for
his own learning, and did not share them with
others at that time.
1665: Robert Hooke
Using a compound microscope, Hooke examined
tiny parts of animals such as flies, and was the
first person to coin the term “cell” to describe the
structure of living things.
1850’s: Gregor Mendel
Gregor Mendel performed a series of experiments
in pea plants that led to the discovery of gene
inheritance, and ultimately the field of genetics. He
proposed his work with the pea plants to be
applicable to all living organisms.
1870’s: Charles Darwin
Darwin voyaged for a while, collecting samples
from different organisms around the world. After
extensively studying his samples, he proposed the
theory of natural selection, and later on the theory
of evolution.
1930’s: Tuskegee
Study
The Tuskegee study began in 1932 to study how
syphilis affected the human body. There were very
few standards for medical studies at that point, so
the patients were not informed that they were
being inoculated with syphilis. The participants
were only given placebos, and no real medication.
After the fact, many African American individuals
were rightfully distrusting of white doctors and
often refused to go to them for medical care for
fear of the same thing happening to them.
1950’s
James Watson & Francis Crick
Watson and Crick were shown an image of Franklin’s work,
which ultimately formed the basis for their model of DNA that
they won a Nobel Prize for in 1962.

Rosalind Franklin
Franklin was the one who began using x-rays to see the
actual structure of DNA, and was never credited by Watson
and Crick.
1950’s: Henrietta Lacks
Henrietta Lacks was a poor Black woman who had
cervical cancer. A biopsy of her cancer was taken
into a lab and it was quickly discovered that her
cells do not die like normal cells do. Her cells were
used to develop standard cell medium and
proper sanitation protocols, and the cells are still
being used around the world today. However,
Henrietta and her family were not well-educated,
and so for many years they did not truly
understand what was happening with Henrietta’s
cells.
1950’s: Angella
Dorothea Ferguson
Ferguson graduated with a degree in pediatrics
from Howard University in 1949. Ferguson quickly
realized that most research was done on children
of European descent, so there was some
discrepancy between the African American
children. Later on, she created her own pediatric
practice in 1953 and created her own research on
information from African American children in
order to answer parents questions.
1950’s: Henrietta Lacks
Henrietta Lacks was a poor Black woman who had
cervical cancer. A biopsy of her cancer was taken
into a lab and it was quickly discovered that her
cells do not die like normal cells do. Her cells were
used to develop standard cell medium and
proper sanitation protocols, and the cells are still
being used around the world today. However,
Henrietta and her family were not well-educated,
and so for many years they did not truly
understand what was happening with Henrietta’s
cells.
1970’s: Patricia Bath
Patricia Bath was the creator of a laser eye
surgery capable of giving sight back to those who
are almost blind. She was one of the first women
to lead a post-graduate training program in
ophthalmology.
2021: Treena Arinzeh
The main part of her work focuses on tissue
regeneration, she is also part of a program that
allows high school students from economically
disadvantaged areas into her lab for summer
internships.
 Continued Issues
Though there have been Black and Brown scholars in science
for many years, they tend to remain in the shadows and many
are not as widely known as some of the white predecessors.
 Resources
● https://www.britannica.com/science/biology/The-history-of-biology
● https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/aristotle-biology/
● https://www.biography.com/scientists/gregor-mendel
● https://www.forbes.com/sites/evaamsen/2019/05/02/leonardo-da-vincis-scientific-studies-500-years-later/
?sh=1b38fa877f46
● https://www.biography.com/scientists/robert-hooke
● https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/charles-darwin-most-famous-biologist.html
● https://www.biography.com/scientists/rosalind-franklin
● https://www.history.com/news/the-infamous-40-year-tuskegee-study
● https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/people-african-american-history/angella-dorothea-fer
guson-1925/
● The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
● https://www.regmednet.com/women-to-watch-developing-functional-biomaterials-for-tissue-regeneration-
with-dr-treena-arinzeh/
● https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gcE_QMTBNW4