Jerome Lejeune; Found Down’s Chromosome

Jerome Lejeune, 67, the French geneticist who discovered the chromosome that causes Down’s syndrome. After six years of research, Lejeune in 1959 published a paper showing that the cells of people with Down’s syndrome contain 47 chromosomes, one more than normal. The condition, a form of mental retardation, is named for Dr. J. Langdon Down, a British physician who first diagnosed it in the 1800s. Lejeune became a vociferous advocate of humane care for people with Down’s syndrome. Also a fervent opponent of abortion, he was named last month to the new Pontifical Academy for Life by Pope John Paul II. On April 3 in Paris of lung cancer.