The mathematical biophysics of Nicolas Rashevsky

N. Rashevsky (1899-1972) was one of the pioneers in the application of mathematics to biology. With the slogan: mathematical biophysics : biology :: mathematical physics ; physics, he proposed the creation of a quantitative theoretical biology. Here, we will give a brief biography, and consider Rashevsky's contributions to mathematical biology including neural nets and relational biology. We conclude that Rashevsky was an important figure in the introduction of quantitative models and methods into biology.