| Authorised form of name | Mayr; Ernst (1904 - 2005) |
| Dates | 1904 - 2005 |
| Nationality | American |
| Place of birth | Kempten, Germany |
| Date of birth | 05/07/1904 |
| Place of death | Bedford, Massachusetts |
| Date of death | 03/01/2005 |
| Occupation | Biologist |
| Research field | Ornithology |
| Evolutionary biology |
| Philosophy of biology |
| Activity | Education:
Medical studies at Greifswald University; Berlin, PhD, supervised by Erwin Stresemann, Curator of Birds, University of Berlin Museum of Natural History (1925-1926)
Career:
Assistant Curator, University of Berlin Museum of Natural History (1926-1932); expedition to New Guinea to collect for Walter Rothschild's museum at Tring (1928); expedition for American Museum of Natural History to Soloman Islands - it was reported that he had died at the hands of tribesmen (1928-1930); Associate Curator, Whitney-Rothschild Collection, American Museum of Natural History (1932 - 1944), Curator (1944-1953); appointed Alexander Agassiz Professor of Zoology, Harvard University Museum of Comparative Zoology (1953), Director (1961-1970), Professor Emeritus (1975); founded journal 'Evolution' in 1947; awarded Japan Prize; Balzan Prize (1983); International Prize for Biology (1994); Crafoord Prize, Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences (1999); described 26 species and 472 subspecies previously unknown to science, published 25 books in the course of 81 years. |
| Membership category | Foreign Member |
| Date of election | 30/06/1988 |
| Age at election | 83 |
| RSActivity | Medals and prizes:
Darwin Medal 1984 |
| Relationships | Son of Otto Mayr, a judge; married (1935) Margarete (Gretel) Simon (died 1990) |
| Source | Obituaries:
Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society 2006 vol 52 pp 167-187, plate, by Walter J Bock
Obituary in The Times (7 February 2005); Daily Telegraph (8 February 2005); Independent (10 February 2005)
Sources:
Mariana Cook 'Faces of Science' 2005 pp 114-115 photograph and account of his work in his own words |
| Code | NA4744 |
Archives associated with this Fellow
| RefNo | Title | Date |
| EC/1988/44 | Mayr, Ernst: certificate of election to the Royal Society | 1985 |