Ernst Mayr

Ernst Mayr
Ernst Mayr
Born	(1904-07-05)July 5, 1904 Kempten, German Empire
Died	February 3, 2005(2005-02-03) (aged 100) Bedford, Massachusetts, United States
Nationality	Germany
Scientific career
Fields	evolutionary biology

Ernst Walter Mayr (July 5, 1904, Kempten, Germany – February 3, 2005, Bedford, Massachusetts), was a German American scientist. He was one of the 20th century's leading evolutionary biologists. He was also a well-known taxonomist, tropical explorer, ornithologist,^[1] historian of science, and naturalist. He was a leading contributor to the modern evolutionary synthesis. He was especially interested in how new species formed.^[2][3]

Mayr joined the faculty of Harvard University in 1953, where he also served as director of the Museum of Comparative Zoology from 1961 to 1970. He retired in 1975 as emeritus professor of zoology, showered with honors.

After his retirement, he went on to publish more than 200 articles, in a variety of journals—more than some reputable scientists publish in their entire careers; 14 of his 25 books were published after he was 65. Even as a centenarian, he continued to write books.

Mayr was awarded the Linnean Society's prestigious Darwin-Wallace Medal in 1958. He was never awarded a Nobel Prize, because there is no such prize for evolutionary biology. He commented that Darwin would not have received one, either. Mayr did win a 1999 Crafoord Prize. That prize honors basic research in fields that do not qualify for Nobel awards, and is administered by the same organization as the Nobel Prize.

1. ↑ Gill F.B. 1994. Ernst Mayr, the ornithologist. Evolution 48 (1): 12–18. [1]
2. ↑ Coyne J.A. 2005. Ernst Mayr (1904–2005). Science 307 (5713): 1212–1213. (no free access)
3. ↑ Diamond J. 2005. Obituary: Ernst Mayr (1904–2005). Nature 433 (7027): 700–701. (no free access)