1902-1984

American Paleontologist

A pioneer in the application of statistical methods to paleontology, George Simpson added immensely to scientific knowledge concerning prehistoric life. In the course of a long career that took him to varied destinations around the globe, he analyzed fossil remains, and from these derived information about migratory patterns, evolutionary histories, and other facts of the distant past. He was also a prolific writer who produced several important texts.

The youngest of three children, Simpson was born in Chicago on June 16, 1902, to Joseph and Helen Kinney Simpson. When Simpson was a baby, his father, a lawyer, took a job as a railroad claims adjuster in Denver, Colorado; later he became a land speculator. Simpson credited his father for taking him on many hikes and camping trips, which engendered in him a love of the outdoors that would aid him throughout his career...