Julian Sorell Huxley, 22 June 1887 - 14 February 1975

Abstract

To the general public of many countries, Julian Huxley was among the best-known people of his day. John Hunter, the famous anatomist and surgeon of the eighteenth century, made a remark that is relevant here. ‘There never was a man’, he said, ‘that wanted to be a great man ever was a great man.’ Julian Huxley certainly achieved distinction in many different fields. Did he achieve greatness ? And if so, did his career disprove Hunter’s dictum, so characteristic alike of his down-to-earth directness and his disregard for the niceties of the English language ? These questions will not be answered in the pages that follow, but the attempt will be made to paint a realistic portrait, that may perhaps help some readers to form their own judgements. First of all, then, what kind of a person was he ? A stimulating person, certainly—one who made things seem important, largely because he could throw himself, and could enjoy throwing himself, into whatever was being discussed. He participated readily in the give-and-take of conversations between scientific colleagues, and it must be admitted that he may sometimes have failed to acknowledge his debt to others in this respect; but some of those who have called attention to this matter may not have realized fully how much they and others have owed to him. Anyone who feels strongly on this subject should refer to two of his papers on dines (60, 66), or to that on ‘Morphism and evolution’ (88), or to the Preface to his book on Evolution, the modern synthesis (73), in all of which he makes full acknowledgement of information supplied to him in the course of conversations.