Professor of Paleontology, George Simpson, Dies at 82

Professor Emeritus George C. Simpson, a pioneer in vertebrate paleontology and evolutionary theory, died last week in Tucson Arizona at the age of 82.

During his stay at Harvard from 1959-1967 Simpson served as Alexander Professor of Vertebrate Paleontology in the Museum of Comparative Zoology.

Professor of Zoology Ernst Mayr, Simpson's colleague of 23 years said yesterday that he was "an extremely intelligent person who made a contribution to any area he entered."

Working together at the American Museum of National History in New York during the 1940s and 1950s, the, two developed the Simpson/Mayr system, a method of classifying organisms by evolutionary characteristics.

"It would not be misleading to say that he was the greatest paleontologist of his time," said Peter G. Williamson, associate professor of geology, adding that, "the issues be addressed in the 1940's, particularly those of modern genetic and neo Darwinism, are still very much alive as matters of active debate today."

Professor of Anthropology David Pilbeam said, "I met him at several conferences and he was very generous and helpful," adding that "he gave good advice and wasn't too harsh when we said stupid things."

Simpson's close to 760 publications include, "The Meaning of Evolution" (1949), "Tempo and Mode in Evolution" (1944) and "Quantitative Zoology" (1939) which he published with his wife. Anne Roe, professor emerita of the Graduate School of Education.

Simpson held honorary degrees from Yale, Princeton, Oxford and Cambridge and was a fellow of the National Academy of Sciences and a member of the Royal Society of London.

"He was as great a person in his personal life as he was in his scientific life," Simpson's wife said, adding that during the last five months of his life, he suffered from "a series of problems which exacerbated each other."

She said that he was originally forced to leave Cambridge for Arizona due to his poor health. He died of pneumonia in Tucson's Eldorado Hospital.

A memorial service will be held at the University of Arizona in Tucson. The date has not yet been determined.