Earl Dorchester Hanson (c.1927 – October 26, 1993) was born in Northern India to Methodist Missionaries.
After serving in the United States Marine Corps in World War II, he graduated from Bowdoin College and earned a Ph.D. in biology in 1954 from Indiana University Bloomington.
In an academic career that spanned nearly 40 years, Professor Hanson was one of the first to advocate ethical training of young scientists.
He also urged improved development of scientific teaching for nonscientists, with an emphasis on how genetic engineering could affect society.
Much of his activity in recent years involved educating nonscientists about contemporary problems and possibilities in biology and other fields.