George R. Price | |
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Born | October 6, 1922 United States |
Died | January 6, 1975 London, United Kingdom |
(aged 52)
Alma mater | University of Chicago |
Spouse(s) | Julia Madigan (m. 1947 div. 1955) |
Scientific career | |
Fields | Population genetics, physical chemistry |
George Robert Price (October 6, 1922 – January 6, 1975) was an American population geneticist.
Originally a physical chemist and later a science journalist, he moved to London in 1967, where he worked in theoretical biology at the Galton Laboratory, making three important contributions: first, rederiving W.D. Hamilton's work on kin selection with a new Price equation that vindicated group selection; second, introducing (with John Maynard Smith) the concept of the evolutionarily stable strategy (ESS), a central concept in game theory; and third, formalizing Fisher's fundamental theorem of natural selection.
After converting to Christianity and giving all his possessions to the poor, he committed suicide.
Price was born in 1922. His father, an electrician, died when Price was four. His mother was a former theater actress, and the family struggled through the Great Depression.
He attended Birch Wathen School followed by Stuyvesant High School in New York. Price graduated with a degree in chemistry from University of Chicago in 1943 and received his doctorate in the subject from the same institution in 1946.