Richard Fortey is one of the world’s leading paleontologists. His research is remarkable for its breadth, covering topics as diverse as Paleozoic biostratigraphy and biogeography (with a focus on the Ordovician), the evolutionary history and biology of trilobites and graptolites, and the diversification of major groups during the Cambrian explosion. He has made major contributions to the use of faunal evidence for reconstructing the former position of the Paleozoic continents. He has led efforts to correlate the Ordovician across the world. He is a leading authority on trilobites. He used arthropod relationships and morphology to quantify disparity following the Cambrian radiation and compare it to that today. He has published more than 200 scientific papers as well as numerous other articles and books, and his work continues to have a major impact on the development of biostratigraphy and paleobiology. He has served as president of the Palaeontological Association, the Geological Society of London, and the Palaeontographical Society. Richard Fortey led a revolution in trilobite systematics, providing new characters, particularly those relating to the hypostome, and generating …