Robert C. Cook

Biographical Information

Robert Carter Cook, a geneticist, demographer and author died in 1991. "In 1922 he was approached by two of his father's friends, David Fairchild, a botanist, and Alexander Graham Bell, who invited him to become editor of the Journal of Heredity. He accepted, beginning an association that lasted 40 years. He was also executive officer of the journal's parent organization, the American Genetic Association.

"In the 1930's he became increasingly occupied with human genetics and what he and others foresaw as an explosive world population growth. In 1932 he joined the Population Reference Bureau, an organization founded several years earlier to publicize the dangers of overpopulation.

"In 1951 he published "Human Fertility: the Modern Dilemma" (William Sloane Associates), in which he drew on his experience to convey a portrait of the earth's future plight. The same year he became director and editor of the Population Reference Bureau, publishers of the Population Bulletin, aimed at interpreting research in the field.

"Mr. Cook retired in 1968, but continued to write and serve as a consultant for several years. He appeared frequently before Congressional committees considering population issues...

"He is survived by his wife, and co-editor, Anabelle Desmond Cook; a daughter from a previous marriage, Victoria Sprenger of Charleston, W. Va.; seven grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren."