Dougal Dixon

"For how can you improve upon perfection?"

- From Dougal Dixon's introduction to his own book, After Man.

Dougal Dixon is a geologist and author, born in Dumfries, Scotland, in 1947. He has had an important role in the development of the field known as speculative biology and is an authority on dinosaurs and prehistoric life. He is the author of over 20 books on dinosaurs as well as other topics of interest. Dixon graduated Bachelor of Science in geology in 1970 and Master of Science in 1972. He worked for two publishing companies as a consultant and editor before going freelance. He married Jean Dixon in 1971, and they currently have two children, Gavin and Lindsay.

Author
Dougal Dixon is a full-time writer and editor who has many books related to earth science and paleontology, more specifically dinosaurs. A majority of his publications have been related to mainstream earth science but he is more famous for his books involving speculative biology, beginning with After Man: A Zoology of the Future (1981). After Man postulates what life might be like 50 million years hence and demonstrate several scientific principles. His other speculative biology books include The New Dinosaurs (1988) and Man After Man (1990).

Television
He has also made appearances on television, and has acted as a consultant for a program about dinosaurs.

Awards
He has won a number of awards including Distinguished Achievement Award for Excellence in Educational Journalism by The Educational Press Association of America in 1993, the Helen Roney Sattler Award in 1993, The Children's Book Council 1994 Outstanding Trade Science Book Award, and the Times Educational Supplement Primary Schoolbook Award 1996. He was also appointed as a trustee of the Dinosaur Society, UK.