Hutchinson with a 3-month-old potto,
New Haven, 1971.
Photo credit: William K. Sacco
The year 2003 marked the centenary of the birth of G. Evelyn Hutchinson (1903–1991), a beloved professor at Yale for 43 years and one of the most influential biologists of the 20th century.
Although his primary field of research was limnology (the study of the
physical, chemical, geological and biological aspects of lakes and
other bodies of fresh water), he had wide interests in the humanities
and sciences, and published over 300 scholarly papers and several
books. Sometimes referred to as the “Merlin” of science, he magically
crafted his detailed factual understanding of organisms into
broad-based concepts. His famous paper “Homage to Santa Rosalia or Why
are there so many animals?” is arguably the first to deal with modern
concepts of biological diversity.