Thomson, Keith Stewart (1938– )

US zoologist of English origin. A Darwinist and specialist on the history of science, he made major contributions to studies of the biology of lower vertebrates, paleozoology, and the morphogenesis and evolution of tetrapods, writing for both a lay and scientific readership on ‘living fossil’ fishes such as the coelacanth. He joined the Peabody Museum of Natural History at Yale (1965–87) to teach biology and become curator of vertebrate zoology. In 1987 he became president of the Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia.

Thomson was born in Heanor, England. He received his PhD from Harvard (1961), then returned to England to teach and perform research at University College, London (1963–65).