Acclaimed French paleontologist Yves Coppens co-discoverer of Lucy, dies aged 88

The death of  acclaimed paleontologist Yves Coppens, was announced by his publisher on Wednesday June 22.

Taking to Twitter to announce the death of French paleontologist Yves Coppens, the publisher tweeted:

“#Yves Coppens left us this morning. My sadness is immense. Yves Coppens was a great scientist, a world-renowned paleontologist, a member of countless foreign institutions, but above all a professor at the Collège de France and a member of the Académie des Sciences.”

#Yves Coppens nous a quittés ce matin. Ma tristesse est immense. Yves Coppens était un très grand savant, paléontologue de renommée mondiale, membre d’innombrables institutions étrangères, mais surtout professeur au Collège de France et membre de l’Académie des sciences.

— Odile Jacob (@EditriceOJacob) June 22, 2022

Credit: Twitter @EditriceOJacob

The paleontologist reportedly died after fighting a long illness, according to the publishing house, which described Coppens as having a “talent for writing, storytelling and essay writing.”

He was best known for being part of the team that discovered the worlds most complete hominid fossil ever found, an Australopithecus aged 3.2 million years.

His discovery of the fossil Lucy was made alongside scientists Maurice Taieb and Donald Johnson in 1974.

Born in Vannes, Morbihan, France on August 9, 1934, he was the son of a nuclear physicist.

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