10 Facts about Donald Johanson

Saturday, October 15th 2016. | Science

Let me show you interesting information about the American paleoanthropologist on Facts about Donald Johanson. His full name is Donald Carl Johanson. He was born on 28th June 1943. His famous discovery, which made him rise to fame, took place in Afar Triangle region of Hadar, Ethiopia. He discovered Lucy. It was the fossil of a female hominin australopithecine. Check the following post below for detail information about Johanson:

Facts about Donald Johanson 1: the birthplace and parents

His parents are Swedish. The birthplace of Johanson was located in Chicago, US. Do you know that the famous wrestler Ival Johansson is the uncle of Donald?

Facts about Donald Johanson 2: education

In 1966, Donald received a bachelor degree from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Then he pursued higher education at University of Chicago. In 1970, he earned the master degree. In 1974, he received the PhD degree.

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Facts about Donald Johanson 3: the job position when discovering Lucy

Donald served as the associate professor of anthropology for Case Western Reserve University when he discovered Lucy.

Facts about Donald Johanson 4: the Institute of Human Origins

The Institute of Human Origins was established by Johanson in Berkeley, California in 1981. In 1997, it was relocated to Arizona State University.

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Facts about Donald Johanson 5: the honor

In 2008, Westfield State College gave Johanson an Honorary Doctorate. Today, Johanson still earns an honorary doctorate from Case Western Reserve University.

Facts about Donald Johanson 6: the discovery of Lucy

The discovery of Lucy made Johanson famous. On 24 November 1974, the fossil was founded in Hadar, Ethiopia.

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Facts about Donald Johanson 7: Australopithecus afarensis

Lucy then was known as a member of Australopithecus afarensis after 40 percent of the skeleton was gathered during the excavation. Get facts about Dolly the Sheep here.

Facts about Donald Johanson 8: the name of the fossil

During the night of the discovery, the song from The Beatles with the title “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” was played repeatedly. Therefore, the fossil was called Lucy.

facts about donald johanson

Facts about Donald Johanson 9: the height of Lucy

After the fossil was gathered, it was recognized that Lucy had the height of 3.5 feet. She was bipedal. It was believed that Lucy ate plants from her rib.

Facts about Donald Johanson 10: Lucy: The Beginnings of Humankind

Lucy: The Beginnings of Humankind was written by Johanson and Maitland A. Edey who made them earned U.S. National Book Award in Science in 1982. Check facts about Dinosaur fossils here.