Barbara McClintock

For the illustrator named Barbara McClintock see Barbara McClintock (illustrator).

Early life

Barbara McClintock was born in Hartford, Connecticut. She was the third of four children of physician Thomas Henry McClintock and Sara Handy McClintock. She was independent from a very young age, a trait McClintock described as her "capacity to be alone", and at four months old her parents changed her name from Eleanor to the more masculine Barbara. From about the age of three to the time she started school, McClintock lived with an aunt and uncle in Massachusetts to reduce the financial burden of her parents as her father established his medical practice. The McClintock's moved to semi-rural Brooklyn, New York in 1908. She was described as a solitary and independent child, and as a tomboy. She was close to her father, but had a difficult relationship with her mother.

Related Topics:
Hartford, Connecticut - Brooklyn, New York

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

McClintock completed her secondary education at Erasmus Hall High School in Brooklyn, New York. She discovered science at high school and wanted to attend Cornell University to continue her studies. Her mother opposed tertiary education for her daughters as it would make them unmarriageable, and family financial troubles almost prevented her from entering university following high school. However her father intervened and Barbara went to study at Cornell in 1919.

Related Topics:
Erasmus Hall High School - Brooklyn - Cornell University

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~