Barbara McClintock
Find out the history of Barbara McClintonck
Barbara's Childhood
Barbara was born on June 16, 1902 in Hartford, Connecticut. Her father, Thomas Henry McClintock, was an army doctor & her mother Sara Handy McClintock was a pianist. As a child she was very active in many sports.
Through Her Life
After graduating high school she left New York to enroll in Cornell University. After earning her degree she started her career as a geneticist. As a women she had to overcome the thought that women were supposed to be housewives and take care of the children.Therefor she often moved looking for a job she went from New York, Brooklyn, and Columbia.
The "Jumping Genes"
Barbara was the first person to discover the "jumping genes" in corn that was discolored or changed. But that wasn't the hardest part the fact that people did't understand it and trust it was difficult. And didn't prove to be important until the 1960's.
In The End
"I never thought of stopping, and I just hated sleeping. I can't imagine having a better life." Barbara sadly died on September 2, 1992 in New York. She didn't have a husband or children. But she inspired many by her thoughts on science and by being the first women to get a Nobel Prize alone. If she wouldn't have discovered the Jumping genes we probably wouldn't have genetically modified corn.