Edward O. Wilson was born in Birmingham, Alabama, on June 10. His first degree was in biology from the University of Alabama. He moved north to Harvard as a graduate student, remaining there for the rest of his working life, first as a doctoral student, then as a junior fellow, and next as a member of the department of biology (later the department of organismic biology), retiring 2000 as a University Professor. Wilson is married with one child. He has received much acclaim, including the Pulitzer Prize for nonfiction (twice), the Craaford Prize of the Swedish Academy of Science, membership in the National Academy of Sciences, and fellowship in the Royal Society.

Wilson's abiding passion has been the world of ants. He has authored books on their nature, their behavior, and their classification. His magnum opus is The Ants (1990), jointly authored with Bert Holld...