Background
Tan was born in Cixi, Ningbo, Zhejiang. His father was a local postman.
Tan was born in Cixi, Ningbo, Zhejiang. His father was a local postman.
Tan continued his study in the United States and received Doctor of Philosophy from the California Institute of Technology in 1937, under the supervision of Theodosius Dobzhansky.
From 1926 to 1930, Tan did his undergraduate study at Soochow University. In 1932, Tan received M.Sc from Yenching University. Thomas Hunt Morgan and Alfred Henry Sturtevant also were his professors.
He later taught at Columbia University.
After Tan returned China, he became a professor at the Department of Biology of Zhejiang University in Hangzhou. In 1952, Tan was transferred to Fudan University in Shanghai.
Tan founded the first department of genetics in China at Fudan University. "As part of the Morgan group in the 1930s, Tan helped make Drosophila pseudoobscura the leading species for evolutionary studies and did pioneering work in insect genetics.
In spite of interruptions by Lysenkoism and by the Cultural Revolution, Tan was still scientifically active in China." Tan died on 1 November 2008 of multiple organ dysfunction syndrome at the age of 99 in Shanghai.
At Fudan University: Former Director of the Research Institute of Genetics, Fudan University Former Head of the School of Life Sciences, Fudan University Former Vice-president of Fudan University Former Vice-president, President, Honorary-president of the Chinese Society for Genetics Former Editor-in-chief, Acta Genetica Sinica Former President, Chinese Society for Biotechnology Board Director, Chinese Environmental Mutagen Society Vice-president, The 15th International Congress of Genetics, 1983, India Vice-president, The 16th International Congress of Genetics, 1988, Canada Vice-president, The 17th International Congress of Genetics, 1993, United Kingdom President, The 18th International Congress of Genetics, 1998, Beijing China Honorary-president, China Democratic League.
National Academy of Sciences. Chinese Academy of Sciences]
He was an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and a foreign member of United States National Academy of Sciences. Member of the Board, The 8th International Congress of Genetics, 1948, Sweden.