Yves Delage


Yves Delage was a French zoologist known for his work into invertebrate physiology and anatomy. He also discovered the function of the semicircular canals in the inner ear. He is also famous for noting and preparing a speech on the Turin Shroud, arguing in favour of its authenticity. Delage estimated the probability that the image on the shroud was not caused by the body of Jesus Christ as 1 in 10 billion.

Life

He was born in Avignon on 13 May 1854. He became the director of the Station Biologique de Roscoff in 1901. From 1902 he was Professor of Zoology at the Sorbonne University in Paris. Delage performed influential experiments on the fertilization of sea urchin egg.
Delage was a critic of Darwinism. He argued for a version of neo-Lamarckism.

Publications