Pierre Teilhard de Chardin

Pierre Teilhard de Chardin was a French Jesuit, Catholic priest, scientist, paleontologist, theologian, philosopher, and teacher. He was Darwinian in outlook and the author of several influential theological and philosophical books. His mainstream scientific achievements included taking part in the discovery of Peking Man. His more speculative ideas, sometimes criticized as pseudoscientific, have included a vitalist conception of the Omega Point and the development along with Vladimir Vernadsky of the concept of a noosphere.

1 May 1881

Born on the same birth day (1 May): Alfred Schmidt (weightlifter) • Benjamin Henry Latrobe • Bernard Butler • Endel Puusepp • Jan Heylen • Kate Smith • May 1 • Phoebe Hinsdale Brown • Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn • Rinchinbal Khan • Theo van Gogh (art dealer) • Vladimir Colin • Yiannis Ritsos

Born in the same month (May 1881): Al Cabrera • Georg von Küchler • George E. Wiley • George Murray Hulbert • Harry J. Capehart • Jan van Gilse • Joseph Forshaw (athlete) • Lima Barreto • Lionel Hill • May 26 • Mustafa Kemal Atatürk • Theodore von Kármán