 davidson black, frs (july 25, 1884 in toronto &ndash; march 15, 1934 in beijing) was a canadian paleoanthropologist, best known for his naming of sinanthropus pekinensis (now homo erectus pekinensis). he was chairman of the geological survey of china and a fellow of the royal society. he was known as æ­¥éç (pinyin: bÃ¹ dÃ¡shÄng) in china. == early years == black was born in 1884, in toronto, ontario, canada. when he was a child, he would spend many summers near or on the kawartha lakes. as a teenager, he would carry heavy loads of supplies for the hudson's bay company. he also enjoyed collecting fossils along the banks of the don river. he also became friends with first nations people, and learned one first nations language. black also searched unsuccessfully for gold along the kawartha lakes. in 1906, black gained a degree in medical science from the university of toronto.  he continued in school studying comparative anatomy, and in 1909 became an anatomy instructor. in 1914 he spent half a year working under neuroanatomist grafton elliot smith, in manchester, england. smith was studying piltdown man during this time. this began an interest in human evolution. 1917 he joined royal canadian army medical corps, where he treated injured returning canadian soldiers. == later years == in 1919 after his discharge from the canadian army medical corps, he went to china to work at peking union medical college. starting as professor of neurology and embryology, he would be promoted to head of the anatomy department in 1924.
1884_births 1934_deaths Canadian_anthropologists Canadian_expatriates_in_China Fellows_of_the_Royal_Society National_Academy_of_Sciences_laureates Paleoanthropologists People_from_Toronto Persons_of_National_Historic_Significance_(Canada)