The French theologian and paleontologist Marie Joseph Pierre Teillhard de Chardin (1881-1955) synthesized scientific evolutionary theory, theological interpretation, and mystical vision into a dazzlingly creative and controversial view of man and the universe.

Pierre Teilhard de Chardin was born on May 1, 1881, at his family's ancestral estate near Auvergne. His family was a devoutly Roman Catholic one. His mother influenced Teilhard's piety, and his father awakened the boy's interest in natural history.

Formative Years, 1899-1922

Teilhard attended the Jesuit school at Villefranche, and at the age of 18, he entered the Jesuit novitiate at Aix-en-Provence. When Roman Catholic religious orders were expelled from France in 1902, his Jesuit community moved to the Isle of Jersey, where he continued his studies for 3 years. He was then sent to teach physics and natural history at the Holy Family College in Cairo, Egypt. During his 3 years there he studied geology and paleontology, and he...