Jared Diamond
**1. Early Life and Education:**
– Jared Diamond was born on September 10, 1937, in Boston, Massachusetts.
– Both of his parents were Ashkenazi Jewish.
– His father, Louis Diamond, was a physician who emigrated from Chișinău, while his mother, Flora née Kaplan, was a teacher and concert pianist.
– He developed interests in piano and birdwatching at a young age.
– Diamond attended Roxbury Latin School and graduated from Harvard College in 1958.
– He later pursued further studies at Trinity College, Cambridge, where he earned a Ph.D. in 1961.
**2. Career:**
– Diamond became a professor of physiology at UCLA Medical School in 1968.
– He has developed careers in ornithology, ecology, and environmental history.
– Currently, he holds the position of a professor of geography at UCLA and teaches at LUISS Guido Carli in Rome and the European Institute of Innovation for Sustainability.
**3. Works and Publications:**
– Diamond has authored popular science and history books like ‘The Third Chimpanzee’ and ‘Guns, Germs, and Steel.’
– Notable works include ‘Collapse’ (2005), ‘The World Until Yesterday’ (2012), and ‘Upheaval’ (2019).
– His book ‘Guns, Germs, and Steel’ received a Pulitzer Prize and was adapted into a TV documentary by National Geographic.
**4. Notable Works and Themes:**
– ‘The Third Chimpanzee’ (1991) explores human evolution and its relevance to the modern world.
– ‘Guns, Germs, and Steel’ (1997) analyzes why Eurasian peoples conquered other populations.
– ‘Natural Experiments of History’ (2010) illustrates a multidisciplinary approach to studying history through comparative case studies.
– ‘The World Until Yesterday’ (2012) discusses lessons modern societies can learn from traditional societies.
– ‘Upheaval’ (2019) examines how nations cope with crises and change.
**5. Awards and Recognition:**
– Diamond has received prestigious awards like the National Medal of Science and the Wolf Prize in Israel.
– He is an honorary fellow at Trinity College and a member of esteemed academies such as the American Academy of Arts & Sciences.
– His contributions to academia have been widely recognized and celebrated.