Progesterone research conducted by George W. Corner transformed the landscape of twentieth-century reproductive medicine. Through his rigorous laboratory investigation and collaboration with Willard Myron Allen, he defined critical units of progestational activity. His extensive academic career spanned multiple institutions in the United States, ultimately shaping modern standards for sexual health education and embryological study.
Academic Foundation and Early Career
Born in Baltimore in 1889, Corner attended the Baltimore Boys Latin School before entering Johns Hopkins University. He graduated in 1909 and completed his postgraduate medical studies in 1913. His early professional appointments included four years as an assistant professor at the University of California, Berkeley, followed by a return to Johns Hopkins from 1919 to 1923.
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In 1923, University of Rochester president Benjamin Rush Rhees appointed Corner as the institution's first professor of medicine. The position was supported by funding from George Eastman and the Rockefeller Foundation, with an annual salary of 6,000 dollars. Prior to beginning his tenure in Rochester in 1924, Corner conducted research in the laboratory of Ernest Starling in England. He served as the director of the anatomy department before transitioning to the Carnegie Embryological Laboratory in Baltimore in 1940.
Contributions to Reproductive Science
Corner played a central role in the identification and study of progesterone. His experimental work with Willard Myron Allen resulted in the development of the Corner-Allen Test and the Corner-Allen Unit, which measured progestational activity in rabbits. Beyond his laboratory research, he influenced the next generation of experts in sexual health, including Mary Calderone, Alan Frank Guttmacher, and William Masters. Calderone specifically cited his support as pivotal in her medical training at Rochester.
Institutional Leadership and Later Life
Corner held several high-level leadership positions, including serving as the 27th president of the American Association of Anatomists from 1946 to 1948. His extensive literary output included historical analyses such as Anatomical Texts of the Early Middle Ages and two volumes of autobiography. He died in 1981 at the home of his son in Huntsville, Alabama, and is buried in Tioga Point Cemetery in Pennsylvania.
Fast facts
- Born: 1889, Baltimore
- Died: 28 September 1981, Huntsville
- Spouse: Betsy Lyon Copping
- President of the American Association of Anatomists: 1946-1948
- Fellow of the Royal Society: 1955
- Education: Johns Hopkins University
- Notable Works: Ourselves Unborn, Attaining Manhood, Attaining Womanhood
- Primary Fields: Anatomy, Embryology, Immunology
Questions readers ask
What medical terms are named after George W. Corner?
His name is attached to the Corner-Allen Test and the Corner-Allen Unit, both used in the study of progestational activity.
Which professional organizations counted Corner as a member?
He was a member of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, the Royal Society, the National Academy of Sciences, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the American Philosophical Society.
Achievements
- Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh
- Fellow of the Royal Society
- Held posts at Johns Hopkins University and University of California, Berkeley
