Thomas Henry Huxley (May 4, 1825 - June 29, 1895) was a British biologist, known as "Darwin's Bulldog" for his defence of Charles Darwin's theory of evolution.
He was born in the village of Ealing near London in England, on 4th May 1825, being the seventh of eight children of a teacher of mathematics.
His scientific debates against Richard Owen demonstrated that there were close similarities between the cerebral anatomy of humans and gorillas. Interestingly, Huxley did not accept many of Darwin's ideas (e.g. gradualism), and was more interested in advocating a materialist professional science than in defending natural selection.
A talented populariser of science, he coined the term "agnosticism" to describe his stance on religious belief.
Huxley was the founder of a very distinguished family of British academics, including his grandsons Aldous Huxley (the writer), Sir Julian Huxley (the first Director General of UNESCO and founder of the World Wildlife Fund), and Sir Andrew Huxley (the physiologist and Nobel laureate).
Thomas Henry Huxley died on 29th June 1895.
e-texts of some of Thomas Henry Huxley's works:
