Francisc José Ayala (March 12, 1934 – March 3, 2023) was a Spanish-American biologist and philosopher at the University of California, Irvine.
He was a Dominican priest, ordained in 1960, but left the priesthood that same year.
After graduating from the university of Salamanca, he moved to the United States in 1961 to study for a PhD at Columbia University. There, he studied for his doctorate under Theodosius Dobzhansky, graduating in 1964. He became a U.S. citizen in 1971.
He was president and chairman of the Board of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
He died from a heart attack on March 3, 2023, a week before his 89th birthday.
Books
Ayala has published 950 papers and 30 books. Recently published books include: Ayala F.J. 2010. Am I a monkey? Six big questions about evolution. Johns Hopkins University Press: Baltimore, MD. Ayala F.J. and Robert Arp eds. 2009. Contemporary debates in Philosophy of Biology. Wiley-Blackwell: London. Avise J.C. and F.J. Ayala eds. 2007. In the Light of evolution: adaptation and complex design. National Academy Press: Washington DC. Cela Conde C.J. and F.J. Ayala. 2007. Human evolution: trails from the past. Oxford University Press: Oxford. Ayala F.J. 2007. Darwin’s gift to science and religion. Joseph Henry Press: Washington, DC. Ayala F.J. 2006. Darwin and intelligent design. Fortress Press: Minneapolis, MN. Hey J; W.M. Fitch and F.J. Ayala eds. 2005. Systematics and the origin of species. On Ernst Mayr’s 100th Anniversary. National Academies Press: Washington DC. Wuketits F.M. and F.J. Ayala eds. 2005. Handbook of evolution: the evolution of living systems (including Hominids), Volume 2. Wiley-VCH: Weinheim, Germany. 292 pp. 2005. Ayala F.J. 2004. Human evolution: biology, culture, ethics. Pearson Education: Upper Saddle River.