Jared Diamond facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Jared Diamond
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Diamond in 2016
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Jared Mason Diamond
September 10, 1937 Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
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| Fields | Physiology, biophysics, ornithology, environmental science, history, ecology, geography, evolutionary biology, and anthropology |
| Institutions | University of California, Los Angeles |
| Thesis | Concentrating activity of the gall-bladder (1961) |
Jared Mason Diamond (born September 10, 1937) is an American scientist, historian, and author. He is famous for writing books that combine ideas from many different fields. In 1985, he received a special award called the MacArthur Genius Grant. He has written many scientific articles and popular books.
His most well-known book is Guns, Germs, and Steel (1997). This book won several awards, including the 1998 Pulitzer Prize for non-fiction. Diamond was originally trained in biochemistry and physiology. However, he has also published important works in anthropology, ecology, geography, and evolutionary biology. In 1999, he received the National Medal of Science. This is a high honor given by the President of the United States. He was a professor of geography at UCLA until he retired in 2024.
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Early Life and Education
Jared Diamond was born on September 10, 1937, in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. His parents came from Jewish families who had moved to the United States. His father, Louis Diamond, was a doctor. His mother, Flora, was a teacher, linguist, and concert pianist. Jared started playing the piano when he was six years old.
When he was seven, he became very interested in bird-watching. This became a major passion for him throughout his life. He even wrote several books and articles about birds.
At age 15, his parents took him to Montana for the first time. They spent holidays on a ranch there. He loved the beauty of Montana so much that he often returned for family vacations. Montana later became an important example in his book Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed.
Diamond went to the Roxbury Latin School. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Harvard College in 1958. In 1961, he received his PhD from Trinity College, Cambridge. His PhD research focused on the physiology and biophysics of membranes in the gall bladder.
Career as a Scientist and Author
After finishing his studies, Diamond returned to Harvard. In 1968, he became a professor of physiology at UCLA Medical School. While he was in his twenties, he also started a second career. He became an expert in ornithology (the study of birds) and ecology. He focused on New Guinea and nearby islands, which he began visiting in 1964.
Later, when he was in his fifties, Diamond started a third career. He began studying environmental history and became a professor of geography at UCLA. He has also given two popular TED talks. These talks were "Why do societies collapse" (2008) and "How societies can grow old better" (2013).
Diamond is known for writing many popular science and history books. These books combine ideas from different fields. Because he studies so many different subjects, people often call him a "polymath." This means someone who knows a lot about many different things.
Famous Books by Jared Diamond
Jared Diamond has written many academic articles for science journals like Nature. He has also written many popular science articles for magazines like Discover. He is most famous for his bestselling books. These include The Third Chimpanzee (1991), Guns, Germs, and Steel (1997), Collapse (2005), The World Until Yesterday (2012), and Upheaval (2019).
The Third Chimpanzee (1991)
Diamond's first popular book is The Third Chimpanzee: The Evolution and Future of the Human Animal. It looks at how humans evolved and how this relates to our world today. The book uses information from anthropology, evolutionary biology, genetics, ecology, and linguistics.
It explores why humans are so different from other animals. This is surprising because we share more than 98% of our DNA with chimpanzees. The book also discusses the animal origins of language, art, and farming. These are things we often think are only human. The book was well-liked and won several awards.
Guns, Germs, and Steel (1997)
His second and most famous book is Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies. It was published in 1997. The book asks a big question: Why did people from Eurasia (Europe and Asia) conquer or replace people in the Americas, Australia, and Africa? Why didn't it happen the other way around?
Diamond argues that this wasn't because Eurasian people were genetically better. Instead, it was due to features of the Eurasian continent itself. For example, Eurasia had many wild plants and animals that could be easily domesticated. Also, its east-west shape helped these domesticated plants and animals, as well as people, technologies, and diseases, spread easily over long distances.
The book became a worldwide bestseller and was translated into 33 languages. It won many awards, including a Pulitzer Prize. A TV show based on the book was made by the National Geographic Society in 2005.
Collapse (2005)
Diamond's next book, Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed, came out in 2005. This book looks at societies from the past. It tries to figure out why some societies failed and disappeared, while others managed to survive and thrive. It also considers what we can learn from these historical examples today.
Like in Guns, Germs, and Steel, Diamond argues that cultural reasons alone don't explain why societies fail. He focuses more on environmental factors. Some of the societies he talks about include the Norse in Greenland, the Maya, and the people of Rapa Nui (Easter Island).
The book ends by asking why some societies make terrible decisions. It also looks at how big businesses affect the environment. Finally, it discusses what our main environmental problems are today and what individuals can do to help. Collapse was also a bestseller and was made into a TV show by National Geographic.
The World Until Yesterday (2012)
In The World Until Yesterday, published in 2012, Diamond asks what the Western world can learn from traditional societies. He studies 39 small-scale societies of farmers and hunter-gatherers. He looks at how they solve common human problems.
These problems include how they divide space, settle arguments, raise children, and treat elders. He also examines how they deal with dangers, create religions, learn many languages, and stay healthy. The book suggests that some practices from traditional societies could be useful in our modern world today.
Upheaval (2019)
In Upheaval: How Nations Cope with Crisis and Change, published in 2019, Diamond explores how nations deal with big problems. He asks if countries can learn from crises in the same way people do. He looks at countries like Finland, Japan, Chile, Indonesia, Germany, Australia, and the U.S.
Diamond points out four major threats we face today. These are nuclear weapons, climate change, limited natural resources, and extreme inequality.
Personal Life
Jared Diamond is married to Marie Cohen. They have twin sons, who were born in 1987. Although Diamond does not practice Judaism, he and his wife attend religious services during important holidays.
Honors and Memberships
Jared Diamond has received many awards and is a member of several important groups. These include:
- MacArthur Fellowship (1985)
- Pulitzer Prize (1998) for Guns, Germs, and Steel
- National Medal of Science (1999)
- Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement (2001)
- Wolf Prize in Agriculture (2013)
- Member of the National Academy of Sciences
- Board of Directors of the World Wildlife Fund
An animal, the Eastern long-beaked echidna Zaglossus bartoni diamondi, was named in honor of Jared Diamond. A type of frog, Austrochaperina adamantina, was also named after him.
See also
- Assembly rules
- Comparative history
- Environmental determinism
- List of important publications in anthropology
