William C. Boyd

Who was William C. Boyd?

William Clouser Boyd was an American immunochemist, who with his wife Lyle, during the 1930s, made a worldwide survey of the distribution of blood types. Born in Dearborn, Missouri, he discovered that blood groups are inherited and not influenced by environment. By genetic analysis of blood groups he hypothesised that human races are populations that differ by alleles. On that basis, he divided the world population into 13 geographically distinct races with different blood group gene profiles. Boyd co-wrote the book Races and People with Isaac Asimov.

Later, Boyd discovered lectins in plants. He also studied the blood groups of mummies.

Boyd also wrote and published several science fiction short stories in collaboration with Lyle G. Boyd under the name "Boyd Ellanbee".

His papers were donated to the National Library of Medicine by Mrs. Cassandra Boyd in 1983.