Donald Johanson

The only son of a widowed immigrant mother who worked as a cleaning lady, Donald Johanson did so poorly on his SATs that his high school guidance counselor told him to forget about going to college. Johanson ignored the counselor's advice, pursued higher education, and earned a Ph.D. in anthropology at the University of Chicago. Within a year of earning his doctorate, Johanson made news around the world with a discovery that dramatically altered our understanding of human evolution. The fossilized bones of a creature Johanson called Lucy constitute the oldest, most complete specimen of an extinct species which was not human, but from which the human race may be descended. Dr. Johanson has become one of the dominant figures in the world of paleoanthropology, and his books and television appearances have given a mass audience a tantalizing glimpse of the mysterious origin of our species. He appeared as the on-screen host of a 13-part series for the PBS program Nature in 1982, and for the Nova series in 1994. In this podcast, recorded at the Academy of Achievement's 2001 Summit in San Antonio, Texas, Johanson retraces the path that led to his discovery of Lucy in 1974. He describes his family and childhood and considers the place of humanity in nature.