3 The New York Years (1931–1953)

316 9 Ernst Mayr—the Man
conceptual advances such as the explanations of the origin of organic diversity or
of the mechanisms of evolution using the methods of observation and comparison.
As Mayr stated: “If there were a Nobel Prize for biology—which there isn’t,
because Nobel was an engineer and too ignorant of biology!—if there were such
an award, Darwin could never have received it for evolution through natural
selection, because that was a concept, not a discovery!”
Partly to remedy the narrow focus of the Nobel Prize, several international
prizes have been established and are awarded to scientists at large, including
those in fields not considered by the Nobel Committee. These are the Balzan
Prize, Japan’s International Prize for Biology, and the Crafoord Prize, which are
considered equivalents to the Nobel Prize. Ernst Mayr got all three, the “Triple
Crown of Biology”!
The Swiss-Italian Balzan Foundation (Milan, Italy) was established in 1956 by
Angela Lina Balzan to honor her father, Eugenio Balzan, the former head of Italy’s
leading newspaper. Annually, up to three researchers, poets, or other persons
are each awarded 250,000 Swiss Francs for extraordinary achievements. Previous
recipients included Mother Theresa and writer Jorge Louis Borges when, in 1983,
this prize was designated for the first time in zoology and awarded to “the greatest
living evolutionary biologist” Ernst Mayr (Gould 1984; Markl 1984). Mayr also
won the 1994 International Prize for Biology (“Japan Prize”) as “the outstanding
systematist in the world.” The prize is awarded by the Society for the Promotion of
Science in Japan and consists of a diploma, a medal and 10 million yen, or about
US $100,000. These were presented on 28 November 1994 at a ceremony in Tokyo
attended by Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko.
Mayr’s daughter, Mrs. Christa Menzel, and Professor Walter Bock (New York)
accompanied him on the trip to Japan, which he enjoyed very much. He wrote
a detailed report for his friends from which the following excerpts are taken.
They flew first-class and nonstop from New York to Tokyo at the invitation of
the awarding society on 21/22 November 1994. After a day’s rest, they traveled
by a bullet train to Kyoto where a scientific discussion meeting took place and
a birdwatching trip to a large freshwater lake was scheduled on the following day.
Mayr observed several species here that he had never seen alive before. The party
took the train back to Tokyo on the morning of November 27, again with a beautiful
view of Fujiyama.
“On Monday the 28th was the ceremony of the presentation of the Prize. Particularly
interesting and in part amusing was the formalized ritual of the actual award
ceremony. This included being formally introduced to the Ministers and to the
Imperial Majesties. The Ministers were the Deputy Prime Minister and the Minister
of Education, obviously two very high ranking Japanese politicians. Every step
and movement of the ensuing ceremony was carefully prescribed. The Chairman
of the rewarding society and the Chairman of the Selection Committee both gave
detailed reports why I was chosen for the award. After I had received two scrolls
dealing with the award and some envelopes containing information, which I had
turned over to Christa, came the next step, which was the delivery of the Imperial