Yang Zhongjian

Yang Zhongjian was a Chinese-born, British-American paleontologist and zoologist who made significant contributions to the study of vertebrate fossils in China and the world. He graduated from Peking University in 1923 and obtained his PhD from the University of Munich in 1927. He joined the China Geological Survey in 1928 and took charge of the excavations at the Peking Man Site at Zhoukoudian. He established the Laboratory of Vertebrate Paleontology in the Geological Survey and later became the director of the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology (IVPP) and the Beijing Natural History Museum. He was also a professor at Peking University and Northwest University of Xi'an. He is widely regarded as the "Father of Chinese Vertebrate Paleontology" and the "Father of Chinese Dinosaur Studies". He named and described many new dinosaurs from China, such as Lufengosaurus, Yunnanosaurus, Tsintaosaurus, Mamenchisaurus, and Chialingosaurus. He also supervised the collection and research of other vertebrate fossils, such as mammals, reptiles, amphibians, and fish. He received many honors and awards, such as the Romer-Simpson Medal, the Ho Leung Ho Lee Prize, and the Charles Darwin Award. He was a citizen of the United Kingdom and the United States, and a permanent resident of Hong Kong. He died in 1979 at the age of 82 and his cremated remains are interred at the Zhoukoudian site. He was a pioneer, a visionary, and an inspiration to many.