Pierre Teilhard de ChardinDied 10 Apr 1955 at age 73 (born 1 May 1881). Pierre Teilhard de Chardin was a French philosopher and paleontologist who was a Jesuit theologian as well as a scientist, and wrote on the reconciliation of faith and evolutionary theory. However, his thinking was ahead of his time, and the Vatican forbade him from publishing on religious matters during his lifetime, though his works were eventually published after his death. He regarded evolution as not just a physical fact, but also a spiritual truth. After studying theology and being ordained a priest, he pursued paleontology, and began working at the Musée National d'Histoire Naturelle, in Paris (1912-14). He investigated the site of the claimed Piltdown Man discovery (1912), and assisted excavations at the Cave of Castillo, Spain, a prehistoric painted cave (1913). After military service during WW I, he later travelled in China, and participated in excavations at the Peking Man site.« |
