Percival Davis


Percival William Davis, also known as Bill Davis, is an American author, young earth creationist, and intelligent design proponent.

Education and career

In 1958, Davis received a bachelor of arts in zoology from DePauw University, in 1961 master of arts in zoology from Columbia University, Master's degrees from Columbia University and the University of South Florida, and completed a PhD in 1993 from the University of South Florida in Instructional Technology. Beginning in 1968, Davis was a professor of Life Science at Hillsborough Community College in Tampa, Florida but has since retired. Since 2006 he has been a visiting professor of biology at Clearwater Christian College.

Intelligent design

The term "intelligent design" came into general usage following the publishing of a 1989 book called Of Pandas and People co-authored by Davis and Dean H. Kenyon. The pair suggested that Darwinism, more than a century old, had outlived its usefulness, primarily because evolution was unable to explain all the biological complexities, which they argue show evidence of an intelligent designer. Davis additionally co-wrote "Case for Creation," with Wayne Frair, published through Chicago's Moody Bible Institute in 1983.
In a November 1994 Wall Street Journal front-page article concerning why he decided to co-author Of Pandas and People, quoted Davis saying "Of course my motives were religious. There's no question about it."

Books