It is with great sorrow that the Eugène Dubois Foundation has taken notice of the passing of Professor Frans de Waal. Frans de Waal was a renowned investigator of the behaviour of chimpanzees and other primates. He had a major impact on our scientific understanding of the behaviour of primates and was able to share these insights with a wide audience through his beautifully written books and public lectures.
Frans was a professor at Emory University for several decades, and was also the first academic to fill the Eugene Dubois Foundation rotating chair at Maastricht University, in the year 2015.
In his own words, Frans was someone who had helped bring apes somewhat closer to humans, and humans somewhat closer to apes. Frans de Waal’s passing leaves a large void and we are grateful for his tireless efforts in teaching the world about the behaviour and the many similarities between the many species of primates that occupy the branch of evolution which also includes ourselves, humans.
A description of Frans de Waal’s life and career, written in Dutch, can be found on the NRC website.
An in memoriam for Frans de Waal from Emory University, describing his life and work, can be found here.
