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| Richard Dawkins was born on March 26, 1941 to Clinton John and Jean Mary Vyvyan Dawkins in Nairobi, Kenya. Both of his parents were scientists which helped encourage Dawkins' own interest in ecological and evolutionary studies. Dawkins grew up in an upper-middle class household and eventually moved to England with his parents when he was eight. Although he quickly became part of the church, Dawkins always felt disconnected from the ceremony and tradition of religion and often doubted the existence of God. Dawkins spent his younger years at the Oundle School and, upon graduating, studied zoology at Balliol College at Oxford. Dawkins graduated with a BA in zoology in 1962 and stayed on to complete his Masters and Doctorate degrees. He received his D. Phil. in 1966 and later his D. Sc. In 1989. After completing his D. Phil., Richard Dawkins moved to California to become an assistant professor at the University of California, Berkley. He remained an assistant professor until 1970 when he was given a position as a lecturer. Six years later, Dawkins published his first and best known book, The Selfish Gene, in which he described the basics of human and animal behavior as a function of survival of not only the individual, but also of their families and their species as a whole. The book brought a lot of criticism from skeptics, especially those who disagreed with Darwin and the idea of natural selection. Having grown up in a scientific household, Dawkins read and studied evolutionary theories of various award-winning scientists, including Charles Darwin, and based his book on a combination of his learning and his own observations of species. Richard Dawkins followed The Selfish Gene with The Extended Phenotype in 1982 in which he discusses "the process whereby replicators out-propagate each other" and focuses on genetics as the most important unit of selection in evolution. Where The Selfish Gene talked about the actions of species in relation to their genetics and natural selection, The Extended Phenotype focused more on genes and the genetic code in relation to evolution. During his lectures and tours with his books, Richard Dawkins also took part in multiple discussions and debates over the ideas of conventional evolution and creationism. As a self-proclaimed atheist, Dawkins spoke openly about his opposition to intelligent design and creationism and the Atheist Alliance International even named an award in his honor. As a result of his arguments, both public and published, Dawkins has been nicknamed "Darwin's bulldog" in an effort to explain his passion and enthusiasm for his scientific beliefs. His anti-religious beliefs led to the publication of his third novel, The Blind Watchmaker in 1986 in which he discussed the ideas of creationism in regards to evolution. After becoming a reader in zoology at the University of Oxford in 1990, Dawkins began giving lectures and speaches at a number of universities and events around the world. His written and spoken work has also earned him multiple honors and awards including honorary doctorates from the University of Durham, the University of Hull, Open University, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, and the University of Westminster. Dawkins also holds honorary doctorates at the University of St. Andrews and the Australian National University. He was elected as a Fellow to the Royal Society of Literature in 1997 and to the Royal Society in 2001. Dawkin's list of awards includes the Los Angeles Times Liteary Award, the Royal Society of Literature award, the Michael Faraday Award, the Medal of the Presidency of the Italian Republic, and multiple others. Richard Dawkins has been married three times, once to Marian Stamp from 1967 to 1984, once to Eve Barham starting in 1984 and eventually to Lalla Ward in 1992. He has one daughter and authored a total of eight books and countless essays and articles. |
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