Jean Edmond Cyrus Rostand (30 October 1894 – 4 September 1977) was a French biologist, historian of science, and philosopher. Active as an experimental biologist, Rostand became famous for his work as a science writer, as well as a philosopher and an activist. His scientific work covered a variety of biological fields such as amphibian embryology, parthenogenesis and teratogeny, while his literary output extended into popular science, history of science and philosophy. His work in the area of cryogenics gave the idea of cryonics to Robert Ettinger. He took an interest in ethics and morality in biology and wrote against pseudoscience, the use of science for war, wrote against racism and supported human equality and freedom. Rostand Island in Antarctica is named after him.

Biography

Rostand was born in Paris to playwright Edmond Rostand and poet Rosemonde Gérard. He was the brother of novelist and playwright Maurice Rostand. His paternal grandfather Eugène Rostand had been a political scientist and economist. The family moved to Cambo-les-Bains in 1900 and Rostand grew up with a fascination for natural history in these surroundings. He was educated by home tutors and read the works of J. H. Fabre, Claude Bernard and Charles Darwin. He then went to study natural sciences at the University of Sorbonne and graduated in 1914. Rostand's biological research began with work on paedogenesis in flies, studies on silkworms and dragonflies before beginning to work on embryology in frogs. In 1910 he was able to induce parthenogenesis in the eggs of Rana temporaria. He then examined polydactyly and its induction by chemical agents in frogs and studied the preservation of sperm vitality using glycerine. He also examined the determination of sex in frogs. For his work in biology he received the Henry de Parville Prize in 1934 and the Binoux Prize in 1941. Following in the footsteps of his father, Rostand was elected to the Académie française in 1959. Rostand was active in several causes, in particular against nuclear proliferation and the death penalty. An agnostic, he demonstrated humanist convictions. He wrote several books on the question of eugenism and the responsibilities of mankind regarding its own fate and its place in nature. Rostand took a special interest in the history of science and especially stressed the slow process by which scientific facts were determined and how they emerged from the interactions of numerous people and highlighted the need for modesty, especially because of the fallibility of individual workers. For his work in the popularization of science he received a Kalinga Prize in 1959. Rostand is famous for the quotation: "Kill one man, and you are a murderer. Kill millions of men, and you are a conqueror. Kill them all, and you are a God" from Thoughts of a Biologist, 1938. In the preface of the 1959 Italian edition of his Artificial man, Rostand foresaw artificial oviparity, gender mutation, virgin births, as well as DNA modifications before and after the birth. Rostand married a cousin Andrée Mante in 1920 and they had a son François who became a mathematician. After 1922 he set up a laboratory in his home at Ville d’Avray and began to conduct most of his research there, free of institutional demands. He would meet people from a wide range of interests at his home on Sundays. He died following prolonged ill-health at home.

Works