Colin Patterson | |
|---|---|
| Born | 13 October 1933[1] Hammersmith, London, England |
| Died | 9 March 1998 (aged 64)[1] London, England |
| Nationality | British |
| Alma mater | Imperial College London University College London |
| Awards | Forbes Medal Scientific Medal of the Zoological Society of London Linnean Medal Romer-Simpson Medal |
| Scientific career | |
| Institutions | Guy's Hospital Medical School British Museum of Natural History |
| Doctoral advisor | Kenneth A. Kermack |
Colin Patterson was a palaeontologist at the British Museum of Natural History and early proponent of cladistics. He was also the author of a Cornell University Press book, Evolution.[2][3] The second edition of this book was delivered to the publishers three days before his unexpected death.[1] This book describes Neo-Darwinian theory in terms of reproduction, excess, variation, environmental selection, divergence, and common ancestry.[4] He has been called "the greatest fish palaeobiologist of [the 20th] century".[5]
He has been quoted as mentioning "a shift from evolution as knowledge to evolution as faith." [1]
Colin Patterson worked at the British Museum (Natural History), now known as the Natural History Museum. He greatly disliked the London Underground and used to commute from his home in Barnes to his workplace by bicycle.[1]
Early Life
editColin Patterson was an only child. His father, Maurice William Patterson, worked for Midland Bank, eventually reaching the position of branch manager. His mother, Norah Joan Patterson (nee Elliott), .[1]
Personal Life
editIn 1955 Colin Patterson married Rachel Caridwen. They had two daughters, Sarah (born in 1959) and Rachel (born in 1963).[5][1]
'Creationism' Controversy
editPatterson came under heavy criticism for his views on cladistics and particularly for presenting these views to the general public in the displays the Natural History Museum.[6] His contemporary and friend[5] Beverly Halstead was particularly critical,[6] entitling one letter to the journal Nature "Museum of Errors" and accusing the museum of falling victim to Marxist theorists.[7]
Patterson was cited by the leading proponent of Intelligent Design Phillip E. Johnson in his 1991 book Darwin on Trial as an example of a leading scientist who was skeptical of the theory of evolution. Johnson interprets Patterson's 1981 lecture to the American Museum of Natural History as suggesting that "both evolution and creation are forms of pseudo-knowledge, concepts that seem to imply information but do not". Patterson roundly rejected this assessment of his comments and stated his acceptance of the evolution in a letter to Nature.
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f JSTOR 770282
- ^ publisher's blurb back cover of Evolution, second edition - Cornell University Press
- ^ Amazon.com review
- ^ Evolution (Comstock book)
- ^ a b c Niels Bonde (1999). "Colin Patterson (1933–1998): a major vertebrate palaeontologist of this century" (PDF). Geologie en Mijnbouw. 78: 255–260.
- ^ a b Nelson, Gareth (1998). Nature. 394: 626. doi:10.1038/29192.
{{cite journal}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ^ Halstead, L.B. (1980). "Museum of errors". Nature. 288: 208. doi:10.1038/288208a0.
Could be useful resource And again, but book review of the above And more looks like it's spilled out beyond the Christian audience and more
/Category:English palaeontologists /Category:Fellows of the Royal Society /Category:Employees of the Natural History Museum /Category:English science writers /Category:Old Tonbridgians /Category:Alumni of Imperial College London /Category:Alumni of University College London /Category:1933 births /Category:1998 deaths