Matthew White Ridley

Journalist and Author. Science writer, businessman, philanthropist, and parliamentarian who popularized major areas of modern science-especially molecular biology, genomics, and natural evolution. Work on science is recognized with well-known books in the areas of molecular biology, genomics, and natural evolution. As science editor, and later an American editor of the Economist, was influential in emphasizing the importance of technology and science within public affairs and within the economy at the end of the last century. Wrote books on the gene revolution in biology; books led to advances in the field of evolutionary psychology. Founded and supported organizations such as the International Centre for Life, a science park devoted to life sciences in Newcastle, and the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. Recipient of the Davis Prize from the U.S. History of Science Society for Francis Crick: Discoverer of the Genetic Code (2006), and the Hayek Prize and the Julian Simon prize for The Rational Optimist : How prosperity evolves.