Gregory Goodwin Pincus (April 9, 1903 – August 22, 1967) was an American biologist and researcher who co-invented the combined oral contraceptive pill. His father was Joseph Pincus, a teacher and the editor of a farm journal, and his mother was Elizabeth (), whose family had come from the region that is now Latvia. Pincus's IQ was said to be 210, and his family considered him a genius.
Research
Pincus began studying hormonal biology and steroidal hormones early in his career. He was interested in the way that hormones affected mammalian reproductive systems. His first breakthrough came when he was able to produce in vitro fertilization in rabbits in 1934. In 1936, he published his experiments' results. His experiments involving parthenogenesis produced a rabbit that appeared on the cover of Look magazine in 1937. To create the in-vitro rabbit offspring, Pincus removed the ovum from the mother rabbit and placed it in a solution mixture of saline and estrone. Afterwards, he placed the "fertilized" ovum back into the rabbit. Pincus's experiment became known as "Pincogenesis" because other scientists were unable to reproduce Pincus's results. After he was misquoted in an interview, it was believed that his experiment was the beginning of the use of in vitro fertilization by humans.
In 1944, Pincus co-founded the Worcester Foundation for Experimental Biology in Shrewsbury, Massachusetts. He wanted to continue his research on the relationship between hormones and conditions such as (but not limited to) cancer, heart disease, and schizophrenia. By the end of the 1960s, more than 300 international researchers came to participate in the Worcester Foundation of Experimental Biology.
Pincus remained interested in mammalian reproduction systems and began to research infertility. His funeral was held August 25, 1967 at Temple Emanuel in Worcester, Massachusetts.
Lasting impact
Pincus' birth control pill changed family life in a significant way, because it allowed women to choose—for the first time—when they would have children and plan accordingly around this decision in a deliberate manner. The birth control pill helped pave the way for the women's liberation and concomitant Sexual Revolution movements.