Huxley, Thomas Henry (1825–1895)

within a short time of its 1859 publication, Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection evoked a wide variety of reactions. Many of his readers enthusiastically embraced natural selection as the elusive mechanism that explained the process of evolution, while others recoiled from Darwinian naturalism, which seemed to obviate divine involvement and purpose. Responses came from all quarters scientists, philosophers, theologiansand the concept of evolution soon made its way into almost every academic discipline. Because of his temperament and bad health, Darwin shunned the limelight, especially public confrontation. Thomas Henry Huxley, one of Darwin's closest friends and confidants, entered the debate about evolution with a more combative spirit and quickly earned the nickname “Darwin's Bulldog.” No epithet was given more deservedly. Though he did not agree with every aspect of Darwinism, Huxley advanced the arguments that related to evolutionits tempo and modethrough his knowledge of comparative anatomy and paleontology. In Charles Lyell and the writings of other geologists, he and his peers found the long stretches of geologicalor evolutionarytime needed to produce the vast, fascinating array of extinct and living species. As Huxley conducted research on several broad fronts, he promoted an agenda of change and made a significant impact in science, education, and society at large.

Thomas Henry Huxley (usually referred to as T H. Huxley) was born in 1825 in Ealing, a small village west of London, and grew up under humble circumstances. Like Dickens, Huxley obtained most of his early education through voracious and wide reading. After a medical apprenticeship, he received a scholarship to study medicine at Charing Cross Hospital (London). Huxley gave special attention to anatomy and physiology and completed this preparation in 1845. In a manner that has some parallels with Charles Darwin's experience on the Beagle, Huxley entered the Royal Navy as an assistant surgeon on the HMS Rattlesnake, which sailed to Melanesia and surveyed Australia's coast. On a cruise that lasted nearly 4 years (1846–1850), healso taking on the duties of amateur naturalistobserved a wide range of wildlife and human cultures. While on this journey, Huxley sent detailed studies of invertebrates back home and, upon returning to England, was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society. In 1854, he left the navy and became a lecturer in Natural History at the School of Mines, in London, where he launched his lifelong study of and writing about various topics in comparative anatomy, paleontology, and related disciplines. Over the next 4 decades, T. H. Huxley held many positions in educational and scientific organizations and institutions (including the Anthropological Institute and the British Museum); he also accepted a number of government appointments that drew upon his expertise. Huxley won many awards and promoted scientific research (especially in the lecture hall and laboratory) and publications (and helped start the journal Nature). Throughout his career, he identified enemies [Page 694](scientists, churchmen, and politicians) and attacked them vigorously through the spoken and written word. Along the way, Huxley, known in his intimate circles as “Hal,” was devoted to his family, loyal to his scientific colleagues, and committed to improving the situation of the working class.

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