Allan C. Wilson

Allan C. Wilson (October 18, 1934 – July 21, 1991) was a pioneer in the use of molecular approaches to understand evolutionary change and revolutionized the study of human evolution. He was one of the most controversial figures in post-war biology and created one of the most provocative theories about man’s origins. He argued that the origins of the human species could be seen through what he termed a “molecular clock.” This was a way of dating, not from fossils, but from the genetic mutations that had accumulated since they parted from a common ancestor. The molecular clock estimated the length of time from divergence, given a certain rate. Wilson followed an international assortment of genes and picked up a trail of DNA that led to a single woman from we all descended – a 200,000-year-old African woman who left a legacy of resilient genes that are carried by all mankind. It was a startling discovery that re-shaped anthropology and evolutionary theory. Scientists called her Eve, but reluctantly; she was not the only woman on earth but she was the most fruitful. Her genes seemed to be in all humans living; 10 billion blood relatives. Eve was, by one rough estimate, your 10,000th great-grandmother. Professor Wilson addressed the students at the Academy’s Achievement Summit in 1988. In 1991, he died at the age of 56 years while undergoing treatment for leukemia.