Richard Dawkins

English ethologist, evolutionary biologist and author (born 1941) · United Kingdom · Scientists

Richard Dawkins is read about 2,423 times a day, in 97 languages.

A typical day, 30 days to 15 October 2026

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He made evolutionary biology confrontational - and popular. The Selfish Gene reframed life as a battlefield of genes, then The God Delusion reframed faith as fair game for the same scrutiny. Few scientists have turned clarity into this much argument.

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A life in dates

2009Honorary Doctor of the University of AntwerpAwardHonorary Doctor of the University of ValenciaAwardNierenberg PrizeAward2005Honorary Doctorate of the Vrije Universiteit BrusselAwardShakespeare PrizeAward2003Honorary DoctorateAward2001“For his purposes (and mine), scientific medicine is defined as the set of practices which submit themselves to the ordeal of being tested.”In their wordsForeword to by John Diamond, Vintage, 2001.Read the whole statement

Emperor Has No Clothes AwardAwardFellow of the Royal SocietyAwardMedal of Representation of the President of the Italian RepublicAward2000Tinbergen LectureAward1998“More generally it is completely unrealistic to claim, as Gould and many others do, that religion keeps itself away from science's turf, restricting itself to morals and values.”In their words"When Religion Steps on Science’s Turf", Free Inquiry (1998)Read the whole statement

1997International Cosmos PrizeAward1996“What worries me about religion is that it teaches people to be satisfied with not understanding the world they live in.”In their wordsHeart Of The Matter: God Under The Microscope | BBC (1996)Read the whole statement

“The popularity of the paranormal, oddly enough, might even be grounds for encouragement.”In their words29 December 1996"Science Delusion and the Appetite for Wonder", John Brockman, Edge.org, December 29, 1996Read the whole statement

“The reason Smolin's idea is interesting is that it may answer the challenge, "The universe is too good to be true.”In their words29 December 1996"Science Delusion and the Appetite for Wonder", John Brockman, Edge.org, December 29, 1996Read the whole statement

1990Michael Faraday PrizeAward1989Silver Medal of the Zoological Society of LondonAward1986Heinemann AwardAward1941Born26 March 1941

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Dinner with Richard Dawkins and CFI... like a candle in the dark

In their own words 10

Richard Dawkins

10 statements, newest first

For his purposes (and mine), scientific medicine is defined as the set of practices which submit themselves to the ordeal of being tested.
2001, Foreword to by John Diamond, Vintage, 2001., Own words
More generally it is completely unrealistic to claim, as Gould and many others do, that religion keeps itself away from science's turf, restricting itself to morals and values.
1998, "When Religion Steps on Science’s Turf", Free Inquiry (1998), Own words
What worries me about religion is that it teaches people to be satisfied with not understanding the world they live in.
1996, Heart Of The Matter: God Under The Microscope | BBC (1996), Own words

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Awards

Nierenberg Prize2009

Honorary Doctor of the University of Valencia2009

Honorary Doctor of the University of Antwerp2009

Lewis Thomas Prize2006

Shakespeare Prize2005

Honorary Doctorate of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel2005

Honorary Doctorate2003

Fellow of the Royal Society2001

Kistler Prize2001

Medal of Representation of the President of the Italian Republic2001

Emperor Has No Clothes Award2001

Tinbergen Lecture2000

International Cosmos Prize1997

Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature1997

Michael Faraday Prize1990

Silver Medal of the Zoological Society of London1989

Heinemann Award1986

Honorary Doctor of Durham University

Fellow of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry

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Richard Dawkins

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About this person

Born 26 March 1941, Dawkins built his career as an evolutionary biologist at Oxford, becoming emeritus fellow at New College and the first Simonyi Professor for the Public Understanding of Science from 1995 to 2008. The Selfish Gene in 1976 introduced the gene-centred view of evolution and coined "meme"; The Blind Watchmaker in 1986 explained how natural selection's cumulative, non-random process generates complexity from random variation. Climbing Mount Improbable in 1996, drawn from his Royal Institution Christmas Lectures, traced how evolution builds intricate adaptations through intermediate steps, and The Ancestor's Tale in 2004 - co-authored with Yan Wong - traced life's lineage back to its origin. Then The God Delusion in 2006 made him one of the "Four Horsemen of New Atheism" alongside Hitchens, Dennett, and Harris; The Sunday Times called it one of the 12 most influential books since World War II, and he founded the Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science that year. Two memoirs followed - An Appetite for Wonder in 2013, Brief Candle in the Dark in 2015 - and a string of honours including the 2005 Shakespeare Prize and the 2006 Lewis Thomas Pri

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United Kingdom