George Harrison Shull

George Harrison Shull (April 15, 1874 – September 28, 1954) was an American plant geneticist who played a central role in the development of hybrid maize and in establishing the genetic basis of heterosis.

He was one of several siblings who pursued careers in biology; his brothers included the plant physiologist Charles Albert Shull, professor at the University of Chicago and founding editor-in-chief of Plant Physiology; the zoologist Aaron Franklin Shull of the University of Michigan; and the botanist and botanical illustrator J. Marion Shull. Another brother was John William Scholl, a scholar of German literature, poet, and genealogist. His niece, the geneticist Elizabeth Shull Russell of the Jackson Laboratory, was elected to the National Academy of Sciences and served as president of the Genetics Society of America. His son Harrison Shull (1923–2003) was also a distinguished scientist specializing in the quantum mechanics of small-molecule electronic spectra.