Richard Dawkins - The Selfish Gene

Dawkins came to prominence with his 1976 book The Selfish Gene, which popularised the gene-centered view of evolution and introduced the term meme.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Dawkins

A meme ( /ˈmiːm/^[1]) is an idea, behavior or style that spreads from person to person within a culture.^[2] While genes transmit biological information, memes are said to transmit ideas and belief information.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meme