[Thomas H.Huxley--the naval doctor who became Darwin's bulldog]

Thomas H. Huxley (1825-1895) was an English physician and biologist who had a deep impact on the Victorian age. More than any other at his time he introduced scientifically based values. As a member of London's school board he brought science into the curriculum, encouraging school-children to ask questions and to make their own observations. Huxley came from a lower middle class family with little money. By sheer determination and hard work he managed to get a medical education at Charing Cross Hospital Medical School. He then obtained a posting on H.M.S. Rattlesnake, which gave him a chance to explore the southern seas and to study marine species. The results were published by the Royal Society of which Huxley became a member at the age of 26, and later its president. After several years of uncertainty he secured a position at the Royal School of Mines, which he transformed into the Imperial College of Science. He was a prolific scientist with wide interests, doing valuable work in paleontology, taxonomy and ethnology. Huxley wrote numerous essays on philosophy and scientific subjects. He coined the word agnostic to explain his attitude to Christian dogma. His style was clear and direct, and his essays still read very well. However, Huxley is now mostly, perhaps unfairly, remembered for his defence of Darwin's theory of evolution. In his book Evidence as to man's place in nature, Huxley, in contrast to Darwin, deals with the evolution of humans, mainly based on comparative anatomy. Huxley advocated a firmly held belief that scientific truths will have a liberating effect on the minds of men. His lectures on scientific subjects attracted large audiences of people who had not had the benefit of a higher education.