John Buettner-Janusch, Date of Birth, Date of Death
TweetJohn Buettner-Janusch
American anthropologist
Date of Birth: 07-Dec-1924
Date of Death: 02-Jul-1992
Profession: anthropologist
Nationality: United States
Zodiac Sign: Sagittarius 
About John Buettner-Janusch
- John Buettner-Janusch (December 7, 1924 – July 2, 1992), often called "B-J", was an American physical anthropologist who pioneered the application of molecular evolution methods, such as protein sequence comparison, to the field of primate evolution.
- He served as chairman of the New York University anthropology department before 1980, when he was sent to prison for turning his laboratory into a drug manufacturing operation.
- After his release, he attempted to poison the judge who presided over his first trial and was sent to prison a second time.Buettner-Janusch was born in Chicago and spent his childhood in Eagle River, Wisconsin.
- During World War II he was briefly imprisoned as a conscientious objector.
- He earned a B.S.
- in 1949 and an M.A.
- in 1953, both from the University of Chicago, before pursuing doctoral work at the University of Michigan, working with Frederick Thieme, James Spuhler, and William Schull.
- He completed his Ph.D.
- in 1957 and the following year joined the Yale University anthropology department.
- In 1963, he published a study of genetic variation in the Kenyan baboon (Papio anubis) based on protein electrophoresis; along with John Lee Hubby, who worked with Drosophila, Buettner-Janusch was one of the first to apply electrophoresis to population genetics.
- The most significant of his work, which included over 80 journal articles, focused on biochemical genetics and cytogenetics in non-human primates.In 1965, Buettner-Janusch moved to Duke University, where he founded the Duke Lemur Center.
- He wrote two textbooks: Origins of Man (1966), produced with the assistance of his wife and long-time collaborator Vina Mallowitz Buettner-Janusch, and Physical Anthropology: A Perspective.
- The first textbook, according to the writers of his obituary in the American Journal of Physical Anthropology, "is widely regarded as a classic in physical anthropology, and many [anthropologists] feel that there has been no better text on the subject before or since."In 1973, Buettner-Janusch became head of the NYU anthropology department.
- Shortly after his wife died in 1977, he was accused of harboring an illegal drug operation in his laboratory, in which his assistants were making LSD and methaqualone.
- Although he maintained his innocence, he was indicted in 1979 and convicted, in 1980, on several counts related to the drug operation.
- He was paroled from a five-year sentence in 1983.
- In 1987, seeking revenge for his drug conviction, Buettner-Janusch anonymously sent poisoned Valentine's Day chocolates to the federal judge for the case, Charles L.
- Brieant Jr., as well as others.
- Brieant's wife fell ill after eating some of the chocolate.
- After pleading guilty, Buettner-Janusch was given a 20-year prison sentence.
- He died after serving six years; near the end of his life he stopped eating and was being force-fed.
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