Huxley Thomas H
Nickname/Alias: Darwin's Bulldog
Achievements: Major defender of Darwin’s theory of evolution.
Born: May 4, 1825; Ealing, Middlesex, England
Died: June 29, 1895; Eastbourne, Sussex, England (Aged 70)
Field & Discipline: Science; Education; Biology; Evolutionist
Father: George Huxley
Mother: Rachel Withers
Siblings: George; James; William; Eliza; Ellen
Spouse: Henrietta Heathorn
Children: Noel; Leonard; Henry; Ethel; Jessie; Marian; Nettie; Rachel
Education: Ealing School; Charing Cross Hospital Medical School, London
Major Work:
"Evidence as to Man's Place in Nature"
"An Introduction to the Classification of Animals"
"Scientific Memoirs"
Life & Times:
After qualifying as a doctor, Huxley entered the Royal Navy and in 1846 joined an expeditionary voyage to the South Seas as assistant surgeon. He spent four years dredging for marine specimens with improvised equipment, and mailed his reports back to the scientific journals.
He discovered a new grouping of marine organisms: the coelenterata. By the time he got back to England in 1850, he was recognized as a brilliant young scientist and in 1851 was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society.
Huxley persuaded the Navy to give him three years' leave with pay to research the specimens he had collected. After the three years were up, he quit the Navy, hoping to earn a living by writing and lecturing.
Over the next decade, much influenced by the biological and embryological work of [influenced by] Baer*, he wrote papers on subjects such as squid and other cephalous mollusks, animal individuality, the nervous system, and the vertebrate skull. The Royal School of Mines hired him to lecture on natural history and appointed him as naturalist to one of their geological surveys.
When [supporter of] Charles Darwin* published "The Origin of the Species" in 1859, Huxley embraced his theory of evolution and became one of his most active supporters in the debate that raged within the Church and the scientific community. At a notorious meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Science at Oxford University in 1860, he clashed with Bishop [clashed with] Samuel Wilberforce* who spoke against Darwin.
In 1863, Huxley published a collection of essays, "Zoological Evidences as to Man's Place in Nature" and gave lectures to working men on "The Causes of the Phenomena of Organic Nature".
The following year, he formed the elite X dining club, which never numbered more than nine members. Except for [club member with] Spencer*, all were members of the Royal Society, and all were "agnostic", a term coined by Huxley.
In 1866, Huxley fell out with his friend [ a pal of] Kingsley* by joining the Jamaica committee, which called for the prosecution of the British governor of Jamaica for ordering the execution of a native Jamaican.
Huxley took an interest in paleontology and ethnology, and investigated fossil fishes, dinosaurs, and the relationship between reptiles and birds. He was appointed professor at the Royal College of Surgeons and the Royal Institute, served on Royal Commissions on the British fishing industry and on education in Ireland, and involved himself with several learned societies.
He wrote for scientific journals and briefly edited the "Natural History Review". He was actively involved in the principles of education and served on the first London School Board from 1870-72. He wrote a number of textbooks, including "Elementary Biology" (1875) and contributed to the ninth edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica.
In 1876, Huxley lectured in the United States, playing to sold-out houses. Among his American friends he numbered botanist [a pal of] Asa Gray*.
Huxley's interest in philosophy grew as he aged and in 1878 he began teaching himself Greek to study Aristotle. He wrote essays on [wrote on] Hume*, [wrote on] Berkeley* and [wrote on] Descartes*.
He published an "An Introduction to the Study of Zoology" in 1880 and the following years became the first Dean of the expanded School of Mines, re-named the Normal School of Science.
He was responsible for setting up practical training courses for science teachers. One of his first teacher-students was [taught] H.G. Wells*. Huxley also used his position to raise funds in the City of London for the promotion of technical education. The City and Guilds College for the advancement of technical education later joined with the Normal School of Science to become Imperial College at London University.
In 1885, with his health declining, Huxley retired from public life, but he occupied himself writing essays on philosophy and theology. In 1890, [attacked ideas of] William Booth(https://app.thebrain.com/brain/f3e16344-7cd9-4fa3-ae1d-59876e128474/17e339c5-5656-5fff-bba4-5a14e6b45032)*, the founder of the Salvation Army, published "In Darkest England and the Way Out" in which he promoted a scheme to reclaim lost souls in the cities and give them a new life as colonists.
Huxley was horrified by what he saw as an evil form of socialism which would destroy liberalism and wrote a series of letters to "The Times" newspaper, which he then turned into a pamphlet.
His last piece of writing was a spirited critical response to an attack on agnosticism in "The Foundations of Belief" by [argued with] Balfour*.
Extra Connections: Met naturalist [met] Wallace*.
Grandson was [grandson was] Aldous Huxley*.
Met [met] Harte*
He admired the work of OC [admired work of] Marsh*
He taught [taught] HF Osborn*
Assessment: Major proponent of Darwin's theory of evolution and natural selection; did much to establish science as a serious academic discipline
Oneliner: TH Huxley, famous defender of Darwin
Extra Connections:
Bibliography:
- Bibby, Cyril,T.H. Huxley, Scientist, Humanist and Educator, C.A. Watts & Co. Ltd., London, 1959.
- Desmond, Adrian, Huxley: From Devil's Disciple to Evolution's High Priest,Penguin Books, London, 1997.