W. D. Hamilton

W. D. Hamilton
Born	William Donald Hamilton (1936-08-01)1 August 1936 Cairo, Egypt
Died	7 March 2000(2000-03-07) (aged 63) Fitzrovia, London, United Kingdom
Nationality	British
Education	St. John's College, Cambridge London School of Economics University College London
Known for	Kin selection, Hamilton's rule
Spouse	Christine Friess
Children	Three daughters
Parent(s)	Archibald Milne Hamilton and Bettina Matraves Hamilton née Collier
Awards	Newcomb Cleveland Prize (1981) Linnean Medal (1989) Kyoto Prize (1993) Crafoord Prize (1993) Sewall Wright Award (1998)
Scientific career
Fields	Evolutionary biology
Institutions	Imperial College London, University of Michigan
Academic advisors	John Hajnal Cedric Smith
Doctoral students	Laurence Hurst Olivia Judson

William Donald Hamilton FRS (1 August 1936 – 7 March 2000) was a British evolutionary biologist, recognised as one of the most significant evolutionary theorists of the 20th century.^[1][2] Hamilton became known for his theoretical work expounding a rigorous genetic basis for the existence of altruism, an insight that was a key part of the development of the gene-centered view of evolution. He is considered one of the forerunners of sociobiology. Hamilton published important work on sex ratios and the evolution of sex. From 1984 to his death in 2000, he was a Royal Society Research Professor at Oxford University.

Richard Dawkins has written that Hamilton was "the greatest Darwinian of my lifetime".^[3]