Sherman Anthony Minton Jr. (24 February 1919 – 15 June 1999) was an American physician, herpetologist and toxinologist, who conducted the earliest detailed modern studies of amphibians and reptiles in Pakistan. Born in New Albany, Indiana, he was the son of United States Senator and Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court Sherman Minton.
As a child in the 1930s, Sherman Junior was already collecting reptiles near his home and learning their scientific names.[1] He wanted to study herpetology, but his father insisted on law or medicine. He chose medicine, enrolling at Indiana University Bloomington and obtaining his Bachelor of Science degree in 1939 and his M.D. from Indiana University School of Medicine in 1942.[2]
He met Madge Alice Shortridge Rutherford[3] (20 March 1920 – 2004) at Bloomington in November 1937, when she introduced herself with the remark "I understand you collect snakes." They became friends but did not marry until October 1943 because of World War II.