Hugh Falconer

Hugh Falconer
MD, FRS
Born(1808-02-29)29 February 1808
Forres, Scotland
Died31 January 1865(1865-01-31) (aged 56)
London, England
Alma materUniversity of Aberdeen
University of Edinburgh
Known forPrecursor of punctuated equilibrium
FatherDavid Falconer
AwardsWollaston Medal 1837
Scientific career
FieldsGeology, Botany, Paleontology
InstitutionsSaharanpur Botanical Gardens
Calcutta Medical College
Agric. Hort. Soc. Bengal
Doctoral advisorRobert Jameson
Author abbrev. (botany)Falc.

Hugh Falconer MD FRS (29 February 1808 – 31 January 1865[1]) was a Scottish geologist, botanist, palaeontologist, and paleoanthropologist. He studied the flora, fauna, and geology of India, Assam, Burma, and most of the Mediterranean islands and was the first to suggest the modern evolutionary theory of punctuated equilibrium. He studied the Siwalik fossil beds, and may also have been the first person to discover a fossil ape.

  1. ^ Bettany, George Thomas (1885–1900). "Falconer, Hugh" . Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co.