Ian Wilmut: Dolly the sheep creator dies aged 79

Ian Wilmut was a British biologist and scientist best known for his creation of “Dolly the sheep,” the world’s first cloned mammal, in 1996.

Wilmut’s groundbreaking achievement in cloning was a significant milestone in the field of biotechnology and reproductive science.

Wilmut served as head of the Scottish Centre for Regenerative Medicine at the University of Edinburgh.

He was also a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS), a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences, and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh.

Wimut’s effort in embryo development had earned him an OBE honours in 1999.

He had subsequently received many awards including the Lord Lloyd of Kilgerran Award, the Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement, and the Shaw Prize for Medicine and Life Sciences.

He was also a former Time magazine man of the year runner up.

Wilmut passed away on September 10, 2023, at age 79, but his work continues to have a lasting impact on the study of genetics and cloning technology.