Lynn Margulis 1938–2011

Lynn MargulisLynn Margulis passed away on November 22, 2011, at her home, in Amherst, Massachussetts, aged 73. She was born in Chicago and enrolled at the University of Chicago when she was 14. Lynn was a renowned biologist and University Professor in the Department of Geosciences at the University of Massachusetts, whose faculty Margulis joined in 1988. Prior to that she taught at the University of Boston for 22 years. She is best known for her theory on the origin of eukaryotic organelles, and her contributions to the endosymbiotic theory. She is also associated with the Gaia hypothesis, based on an idea developed by the English environmental scientist James Lovelock.

The author of Symbiotic Planet: A New Look at Evolution penned hundreds of research papers and many books during her illustrious career. She taught classes in environmental evolution for nearly 40 years.

Lynn, who was once married to astronomer Carl Sagan and then to chemist Thomas Margulis, was elected to the National Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1983 and received the National Medal of Science in 1999. She is survived by her four children and nine grandchildren.

For a full obituary see the New York Times News Service at :
http://bendbulletin.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20111125/NEWS0107/111…