Huxley, Thomas Henry

Huxley, Thomas Henry (1825-1895), British biologist, best known for his active support of Charles Darwin's theory of evolution.

Born in Ealing (then in Middlesex, now a suburb of London), on May 4, 1825, and educated at Charing Cross Hospital, London, Huxley received his medical degree from the University of London in 1845 and was admitted to the Royal College of Surgeons. The following year he entered the Royal Navy as assistant surgeon of HMS Rattlesnake. During his tour of duty in Australasian waters, which lasted until 1850, Huxley became thoroughly familiar with the surface animals of tropical seas. His observations on the medusa family of jellyfish led to the recognition of the zoological class Hydrozoa and to the realization that the two germ layers found in members of this class are comparable to the two germ layers that arise in the early embryological stages of higher animals. Returning to England in 1850, Huxley was made a Fellow of the Royal Society. The Royal Navy retained him as a nominal assistant surgeon until 1853; he used this time to write several scientific papers, including an authoritative work on the morphology of cephalopod molluscs. Huxley became Professor of Natural History and Palaeontology at the Royal School of Mines, London, in 1854. He accompanied the Irish physicist John Tyndall on an expedition to the Alps, where they studied glaciation.

When Charles Darwin published The Origin of Species in 1859, Huxley became the foremost supporter in England of Darwin's theory. His lucid, popular lectures on organic evolution, which he gave at various times from 1860 until his death, were an important factor in the acceptance of the theory of evolution by both scientists and the public. Huxley died in Eastbourne, Sussex, on June 29, 1895. His chief writings include Zoological Evidences as to Man's Place in Nature (1863), Collected Essays (9 vols., 1893-1894), and Scientific Memoirs (5 vols., published posthumously, 1898-1903).