Paul Ehrlich, Population Bomb Author, Dies at 93

Paul Ehrlich, the Stanford University biologist whose 1968 book "The Population Bomb" warned of global famine due to overpopulation, died on March 13, 2026, at age 93 in Palo Alto, California. He succumbed to complications from cancer at a nursing facility, according to university officials.

Ehrlich's career spanned decades as a prominent voice in environmental science and population studies. He joined Stanford in 1959 and later founded the Center for Conservation Biology there in 1984. With his wife, Anne H. Ehrlich, a fellow conservation biologist who survives him, he co-authored more than 40 books and over 1,100 scientific articles on ecology, resources and demographics. His work earned him numerous accolades, including a MacArthur Fellowship, the Heinz Award for the Environment, the Crafoord Prize in Biosciences and a World Wildlife Fund Gold Medal.

"The Population Bomb," which sold millions of copies and was translated into multiple languages, argued that rapid population growth would outstrip food supplies, leading to widespread starvation. In its opening, Ehrlich wrote, "The battle to feed all of humanity is over." He predicted that hundreds of millions would die in the...