C. H. Waddington

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Conrad Hal Waddington CBE FRS FRSE
Conrad Hal Waddington in 1934
Born	8 November 1905 Evesham, Worcestershire, England
Died	26 September 1975 (1975-09-27) (aged 69) Edinburgh, Scotland
Alma mater	University of Cambridge
Known for	Epigenetic landscape, canalisation, genetic assimilation, creode
Spouse	Justin Blanco White
Children	3, including Caroline Humphrey and Dusa McDuff
Awards	Mendel Medal (1960)
Scientific career
Fields	Developmental biology, genetics, paleontology
Institutions	University of Edinburgh University of Cambridge, Christ's College Wesleyan University Centre for Human Ecology
Doctoral students	Robert Edwards

Conrad Hal Waddington CBE FRS FRSE (8 November 1905 – 26 September 1975) was a British developmental biologist, paleontologist, geneticist, embryologist and philosopher who laid the foundations for systems biology, epigenetics, and evolutionary developmental biology.

Although his theory of genetic assimilation had a Darwinian explanation, leading evolutionary biologists including Theodosius Dobzhansky and Ernst Mayr considered that Waddington was using genetic assimilation to support so-called Lamarckian inheritance, the acquisition of inherited characteristics through the effects of the environment during an organism's lifetime.

Waddington had wide interests that included poetry and painting, as well as left-wing political leanings. In his book The Scientific Attitude (1941), he touched on political topics such as central planning, and praised Marxism as a "profound scientific philosophy".