In short order, Mr. Maddox cut down on the backlog of submissions, accelerated the pace at which manuscripts were accepted and edited, added new staff members and, to keep up with developments in the United States, opened an office in Washington. Articles were ruthlessly edited to ensure readability and clarity.

Image John Maddox in 1998. Credit... Zoe Dominic/Free Press

He injected a new sense of urgency into proceedings. Nature became newsier, aquiver with the sense of exciting scientific developments just around the corner. This sense of scientific possibility fed into Mr. Maddox’s best-known book, “What Remains to Be Discovered: Mapping the Secrets of the Universe, the Origins of Life, and the Future of the Human Race” (1998), an optimistic survey of possible scientific breakthroughs looming just over the horizon.

Editors who worked under Mr. Maddox said he ran a sometimes chaotic ship, generating more projects than a staff double the size could carry out. His enthusiasms were often far-ranging, intense and brief, and his fondness for 11th-hour editing could be unnerving. He was renowned for leaving Nature’s editorial page blank until the last possible moment, then sitting down with a secretary and dictating his contributions as the presses rolled.

In 1973, he left Nature to start his own company and publish an environmental journal. It was not a success, but his interest in environmental subjects led to two books. In “The Doomsday Syndrome” (1972), he argued against environmental pessimism, taking an eco-skeptical stance that he modified over the years. It was followed by “Beyond the Energy Crisis: A Global Perspective” (1975).

In 1975 the Nuffield Foundation hired him as director, but five years later, when the editorship of Nature fell vacant, he returned to take over the top spot for a second time. This time he introduced a new series of innovations, publishing offshoots devoted to specific scientific disciplines, among them Nature Genetics and Nature Neuroscience. Nature now puts out nearly 20 such sister publications. He also beat the competition by opening a Tokyo office to cover scientific developments in Asia.

In addition to his son Bruno, of Manhattan, he is survived by his wife, the writer Brenda Maddox; a brother, Don, of Letton, Herefordshire; another son, Piers, of Totnes, Devonshire; two daughters, Bronwen and Imma, both of London; and two grandchildren.

Mr. Maddox was knighted on retiring as editor of Nature in 1995 and five years later was named an honorary fellow of the Royal Society.