Scientists to Know

Bio 302 (Exam 1)

Anaximander (520 BC)

first to suggest species
change over time

Xenophanes (500 BC)

world’s first
paleontologist (?)

Aristotle (384-322 BC)

scala naturae “Ladder of
being”/ “Great chain of
being”

Bishop James Ussher
(1581-1656)

• Studied the Old Testament to
determine chronology
• Creation dated to October 23rd,
4004 BC

Georges Louis Buffon
(1707-1788)

• Environment influenced
changes in animal form
• Extended Earth’s age to
70,000 years

William Paley (1743-1805)

• Equates evolution with
chance/randomness

Jean-Baptiste de Lamarck
(1744-1829)

• Strong proponent of evolution
• Inheritance of acquired
characteristics
• A physiological mechanism
for evolution based on
use/disuse (Ex. Giraffes)

James Hutton (1726-
1797)

• Geological change
occurred gradually
• Earth much older than
prevailing view

Sir Charles Lyell (1797-
1875)

• Uniformitarianism
• Popularized ideas of
Hutton
• Friend of Charles Darwin

Erasmus Darwin
(1731-1802)

• Grandfather of Charles
Darwin
• Zoonomia (1794)
• Discussed common
descent but not natural
selection

Alfred Russel Wallace

Also know for going on a scientific expedition, collecting similar data to Darwin; Wallace and Darwin worked together on their theories of evolution by natural selection (joint paper presented at the Linnean Society)

Richard Dawkins (1976)

Created the Selfish Gene Theory

R.A. Fisher and J.B.S. Haldane

Developed and tested mathematical models for evolutionary change that provided the tools to study variation and became the basis for the study of population genetics

Sewall Wright

Performed studies that revealed the existence of chromosomes as carriers of collections of genes

Theodosius Dobzhansky

Pioneered genetic studies in natural populations of fruit flies; showed that natural populations are not uniform; conveyed mathematical population genetics to a broader audience of biologists

George Gaylord Simpson

Vertebrate paleontologist; showed that paleontological data are consistent with population genetics and natural selection

Ernst Mayr

Naturalist/systematist described a mechanism for speciation; Consistent with natural selection and population genetics