C. Little

Clarence Cook Little was an American scientist and academic administrator born in 1888 in Brookline, Massachusetts. Trained at Harvard, he became known early for his work in genetics and for developing inbred mouse strains, including C57BL/6, one of the best-known laboratory mouse lines.

He went on to serve as president of the University of Maine and later the University of Michigan while still building his reputation as a researcher. In 1929, he founded what became The Jackson Laboratory in Bar Harbor, Maine, a major center for mammalian genetics and cancer research.

Little's scientific influence was substantial, especially in mouse genetics, transplantation research, and the growth of cancer research institutions. At the same time, accounts of his life also note his public support for eugenics, which makes his legacy important but deeply mixed.