Elizabeth Bates

Age: 56

Summary: cognitive scientist who was a leading expert on the way infants develop language, who contended that language is developed based on a general set of mental abilities, and who was known for her outspoken criticism of the theories of linguists such as Noam Chomsky who believed the learning of language is a separate brain process.

Cause of Death: Pancreatic cancer

Born: July 26, 1947

Died: December 14, 2003

Location: San Diego, California