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{{Short description|American zoologist (1943–2022)}}

{{Infobox scientist
| name = Ron Cohn
| image =
| image_size =
| caption =
| birth_date = {{birth date|1943|11|12}}
| birth_place =
| death_date = {{death date and age|2022|9|16|1943|11|12}}
| death_place = [[Redwood City, California]], U.S.
| citizenship = United States
| fields =
| workplaces = Co-founder of [[The Gorilla Foundation]]
| alma_mater = [[University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign]] <small>([[Bachelor of Arts|B.A.]], [[Master of Arts|M.A.]], [[Doctor of Philosophy|Ph.D.]])</small>
| known_for =
| influences =
| influenced =
| parents =
}}

'''Ronald Herbert Cohn''' (November 11, 1943 – September 16, 2022) was an American zoologist who was a long-time research collaborator of psychologist [[Francine Patterson]] in her work in training [[Koko (gorilla)|Koko]] the gorilla in the use of [[American sign language]]. He documented much of Koko's life on film and on camera,<ref name=EK>{{cite web|url=https://www.koko.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/TEOK_Part_1.pdf |title=The Education of Koko|author=|date=December 31, 1981 |website=Gorilla Foundation |publisher=|access-date=2023-12-05 |quote=}}
</ref> and is credited as the illustrator for the [[children's book]]s ''Koko's Kitten'', ''Koko-Love!: Conversations With a Signing Gorilla'', and ''Koko's Story''. One of his photos of Koko was featured on the cover of ''[[National Geographic]]'' in 1978 and 1985.<ref name="RonCohn" /><ref>[https://stanfordmag.org/contents/is-koko-s-clock-ticking Stanford University Magazine website, ''Is Koko's Clock Ticking?'', article byMarina Krakovsky dated summer 2011]</ref>

At the [[University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign]], he received his [[bachelor's degree]] in 1965, his [[master's degree]] in [[zoology]] in 1967, and his [[Doctor of Philosophy|Ph.D.]] in [[biology]] in 1971.<ref name="RonCohn">{{cite web|title=A Tribute to Ronald H. Cohn (1943-2022)|website=[[The Gorilla Foundation]]|date=September 21, 2022 | url=https://www.koko.org/ron-cohn/|access-date=September 22, 2022}}</ref>

After receiving his PhD, Cohn worked as a cell biologist at the [[Stanford University|Stanford Departments of Medicine and Pediatrics]].<ref name="RonCohn" /> He did research in genetic engineering and membrane structure.<ref name="RonCohn" /> He is credited with discovering that adult cells make hyaluronic acid from glucosamine, which led the way to glucosamine being used to treat arthritis.<ref name="RonCohn" />

Cohn co-founded [[The Gorilla Foundation]] with Patterson and [[Barbara F Hiller]]<ref>[https://www.newsweek.com/koko-gorilla-sign-language-death-988302 Newsweek website, ''Who was Koko? Sign-Language Gorilla Dead at 46'', article by Katherine Hignett dated June 21, 2018]</ref> in 1971.<ref name=EK /><ref name="RonCohn" />

Cohn died at his home in [[Redwood City, California]], on September 16, 2022, at the age of 78.<ref name="RonCohn" />

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20090421180453/http://www.koko.org/foundation/ The Gorilla Foundation]

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cohn, Ronald}}
[[Category:1943 births]]
[[Category:2022 deaths]]
[[Category:21st-century American biologists]]
[[Category:University of Illinois College of Agriculture, Consumer, and Environmental Sciences alumni]]

{{US-zoologist-stub}}

Ronald Cohn - Revision history

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