3 The New York Years (1931–1953)

National and International Recognition 315
(1979), Cambridge (1982), Vermont (1984), Bologna (1995), Wallace-Darwin Medal
(1958), Balzan Prize (1983), Darwin Medal (1984), Royal Society (foreign member
1988), Japan Prize (1994), Crafoord Prize (1999). (4) History of biology: Sarton
Medal (1986), Phi Beta Kappa Prize (1991); (5) Philosophy of biology: Honorary
Fellow, Center for the Philosophy of Science, Pittsburgh (1993), Honorary degrees
from Guelph university (1982), University of Konstanz (1994), and Rollins College
(1996), Benjamin Franklin Medal (1995), Ernst Mayr Lectureship, Berlin (1997).
In the 1970s, the French historian of science Jacques Roger came to the United
States with a film team and made a documentary of Mayr’s ideas by interviewing
him both in Cambridge and at his country place in New Hampshire. Altogether,
they took enough film for a 5-hour presentation, but of course for the commercial
film, which eventually was shown in a good many television stations in various
countries, they were able to use only 52 min.
“In the late 1980s, I was elected to the Académie des Sciences, Paris. Apparently
my friends in zoology, particularly Bocquet, Teissier, L’Heritier, etc. had been
trying to get me elected but the election had to be initiated by a nomination made
by one of the Sections of the Academie. In my case, it was the Section of Zoology
that should have made the nomination but, believe it or not, that Section even today
is dominated by Lamarckians and they naturally refused to nominate a Darwinian.
Finally, someone in the Section of Molecular Biology—I have always suspected it
was François Jacob but have no definite information—suggested to that section
that they should nominate me. Indeed, they agreed, and as soon as I was nominated
I was elected. Now I am listed in the membership list under ‘Molecular Biology.’”
The Rockefeller University in New York awarded Mayr the Lewis Thomas Prize
“Honoring the Scientist as Poet” (1998). The award certificate reads in part:
“Dr. Mayr has proved himself an epic chronicler of the evolution of human understanding
of the living world and an original and forceful philosophical proponent
of the unique intellectual character of the life sciences.” The university spelled out
the principles governing the selection of an awardee as follows:
“Throughouthistory,scientistsandpoetshavesoughttounveilthesecretsofthe
natural world. Their methods vary: scientists use tools of rational analysis to slake
their compelling thirst for knowledge; poets delve below the surface of language,
and deliver urgent communiqués from its depths. The Lewis Thomas Prize honors
the rare individual who is fluent in the dialects of both realms—and who succeeds
in spinning lush literary and philosophical tapestries from the silken threads of
scientific and natural phenomena—providing not merely new information but
cause for reflection, even revelation.”
The Lewis Thomas Prize was established in 1993 by the trustees of The Rockefeller
University and presented to Lewis Thomas, its first recipient, that year. Other
recipients have been François Jacob (1994), Abraham Pais (1995), Freeman Dyson
(1996), Max Perutz (1997), Steven Weinberg (1999), Edward O. Wilson (2000),
Oliver Sacks (2001), and Jared Diamond (2002).
NobelPrizes(Stockholm,Sweden)areawardedonlytoscientistsinthefields
of physics, chemistry, and medicine. Entire branches of the natural sciences are
excluded, in particular the historical sciences like evolutionary biology dealing with