Edward O. Wilson, naturalistic biologist and one of the most influential thinkers of our time, he died at age 92 in the city of Burlington, Massachusetts (USA). He was known as “Darwin’s natural heir” and affectionately as “the ant lord“for his pioneering work as entomologist.
THE Foundation who bears his name reported his death last Sunday, December 26th. EO Wilson (Alabama, 1929 – Massachusetts 2021), was an honorary doctor of 40 universities, received the National Medal of Science (United States), the International Biology Prize (Japan) and the Crafoord Prize from the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, among 130 other recognitions for his career. In Spain, it was awarded the BBVA Fronteiras do Conhecimento Foundation Award in the Ecology and Conservation Biology category in 2011.
The foundation that bears his name reported his death last Sunday, December 26
“It would be hard to underestimate Ed’s scientific achievements, but his impact extends to all facets of society. He was a true visionary with a unique ability to inspire and galvanize. He articulated, perhaps better than anyone else, what it means to be human . His infectious curiosity and creativity shaped the lives of many people, including my own, and I’m glad I called him a friend,” said David J. Prend, chairman of the Board of Directors of the EO Wilson Foundation for Biodiversity.
Professor Emeritus by Harvard UniversityFrom a young age, he cultivated his love of nature in the swamps and forests of Alabama and Rock Creek Park in Washington DC. He studied at the University of Alabama and later at Harvard University, where he would obtain a doctorate in entomology in 1955.
I participate in several expeditions to Cuba, Mexico, South Pacific, Australia, Fiji, Sri Lanka and then Mozambique. In the 1960s, he teamed up with mathematician and ecologist Robert MacArthur to develop the theory of species equilibrium, which resulted in the book The Theory of Insular Biogeography, which has become a standard ecological text and the basis of the scientific principle of “balance of species”.
In 1978 he got his first Pulitzer Prize for the publication of in human nature, which dealt with the role of biology in the evolution of human culture. In 1990, the second prize in nonfiction would go to L.like ants, written with Bert Hölldobler. In 1994 he would publish his autobiography the naturalist.
Professor emeritus at Harvard University, from a young age he cultivated his love of nature in the swamps and forests of Alabama
“I’ve been thinking about how the study of the social behavior of ants can contribute to the study of human behavior since I started formulating the discipline of sociobiology in the seventies. Ants are the animals that have the most complex social structure besides us. Their study has had a huge influence on the study of human behavior,” Wilson said upon receiving the FBBVA Award. “When we have sufficiently unified knowledge, we will understand who we are and why we are here.”
Source: SYNC
Rights: Creative Commons.
.