Wolpert was born on 19 October 1929, in Johannesburg to Sarah (née Suzman) and William Wolpert in a South African Jewish family of Lithuanian Jewish origin. His father was a bookshop manager and newsagent. His aunt, … See more

Wolpert shifted focus from applying his knowledge of soil mechanics to studying the science of dividing cells on the recommendation of a friend in South Africa. Partnering with Trygve Gustafson he worked tow… See more

In the early 1980s, he began broadcasting on BBC Radio 3 and Radio 4 as a science commentator, with his broadcast conversations with scientists published as A Passion for Science (1988). He went on to write a n… See more

Wolpert married his first wife Elizabeth Brownstein in 1961 in a marriage that ended in divorce. He later married the Australian writer Jill Neville and they remained married until Neville's death from cancer in 1… See more

• Wolpert, Lewis; Richards, Alison (1988). A Passion for Science. Oxford, U.K: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-854213-5.
• Wolpert, Lewis (1991). The Triumph of the Embryo. Oxford, UK & New York: Oxford University … See more