author
E. W. (Ernest William) MacBride
1866–1940
A pioneering marine biologist and embryologist, he became known for close studies of sea urchins, starfish, and other invertebrates. He is also remembered as one of the last prominent defenders of Lamarckian evolution.
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About the author
Born in Belfast in 1866, Ernest William MacBride was a British-Irish zoologist who built his career around marine biology and embryology. He studied at Cambridge, worked at the zoological station in Naples, and later held major academic posts including professor of zoology at McGill University and Imperial College London.
MacBride was especially interested in the development and structure of invertebrates, with important work on echinoderms such as sea urchins and starfish. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society, a sign of the high regard for his scientific work.
He is perhaps most distinctive today for his views on evolution. Even as Darwinian natural selection became dominant, MacBride continued to argue for Lamarckian ideas about inherited acquired characteristics, which made him a notable and sometimes controversial figure in early 20th-century biology.