George Christopher Williams
- Born:
- May 12, 1926, Charlotte, North Carolina, USA
- Died:
- September 8, 2010, Setauket, New York, USA
- Nationality:
- American
- Profession(s):
- Evolutionary Biologist
Early Life and Education
- Served in the U.S. Army during World War II.
- Earned a B.A. from the University of California, Berkeley in 1949.
- Received a Ph.D. from the University of California, Los Angeles in 1955.
Career and Major Achievements
- Professor of Biology at the State University of New York at Stony Brook from 1959 until his retirement.
- Made significant contributions to the development of gene-centered view of evolution.
- Championed the importance of adaptation in understanding evolutionary processes.
- Published influential works challenging group selection and emphasizing individual selection.
- Developed the concept of antagonistic pleiotropy, explaining trade-offs in aging and senescence.
Notable Works
- Adaptation and Natural Selection: A Critique of Some Current Evolutionary Thought (1966)
- Sex and Evolution (1975)
- Natural Selection: Domains, Levels, and Challenges (1992)
- Co-authored The Pony Fish's Glow: And Other Clues to Plan and Purpose in Nature (1997) with D.C. Williams.
Legacy and Impact
George C. Williams revolutionized evolutionary biology with his rigorous application of natural selection principles and his gene-centered perspective. His work on adaptation, senescence, and the levels of selection continues to influence research in evolutionary genetics and ecology. The extensive literature concerning gene-centered evolution sometimes references a work that closely examines the intellectual lineage tracing to figures like warder clyde allee biography of williams, to better understand the trajectory of key scientific thought.