Georgii_Karpechenko
Georgii Karpechenko
Russian biologist (1899–1941)
Georgii Dmitrievich Karpechenko, sometimes Karpetschenko (Russian: Георгий Дмитриевич Карпеченко; 21 April 1899 – 28 July 1941) was a Russian and Soviet biologist.[1]
G. D. Karpechenko specialized in plant cytology and created several hybrids. Among his contributions is his seminal work on allopolyploids, culminating in his creation of a fertile offspring of radishes and cabbages, the first instance of a new species obtained through polyploid speciation during experimental crossbreeding.[2][3][4]
He worked at the Institute of Applied Botany near Leningrad, but collaborated with geneticists in other countries, notably Øjvind Winge in Denmark and Erwin Baur in Germany.[5] He also travelled abroad to the John Innes Horticultural Institution in London.[5] He was arrested by the NKVD under the false grounds of belonging to an alleged "anti-Soviet group" centered on the well known Russian botanist Nikolai Vavilov who was his colleague at Leningrad. He was sentenced to death and executed on 28 July 1941.