Projects | Professor Joe Cain

Bikini Atomic Test 1946 Coverage in LIFE magazine

Bikini Atomic Test 1946 in LIFE magazine

Atomic testing on the Bikini Atoll in the Marshall Islands in June-July 1946 as Operation Crossroads were the first “public” tests of American atomic weapons. These were public in the sense that they were covered widely by […]

John Ruskin (1854) The Opening of the Crystal Palace. Title page

Ruskin’s 1854 Critique of Crystal Palace (Sydenham)

John Ruskin did not like the new Crystal Palace Sydenham when it opened in 1854. In Opening of the Crystal Palace (1854), he launches his critique, arguing that while the glass structure exhibits impressive mechanical ingenuity, it […]

What’s This? It’s Erasmus Darwin’s Sitting Chair

You never know what you’ll find searching through storage spaces at UCL. I previously wrote about some medical data cards re-discovered. Last year, I was invited to help sort through some historical materials in storage managed […]

Two photographs from sitting at Dover Street Studios show Ronald A. Fisher posing with and without "International Eugenics Congress | London 1912" medal. Photographs are 1913.

Ronald Fisher’s Medal – Don’t Be Fooled

In 1913, Ronald Aylmer Fisher (1890-1962) visited the Dover Street Studios in Mayfair, London, to have some photographic portraits made. He was 23 years old. He had just earned a first class honours degree in […]

Film Night at the Grant Museum, ten years

For about 10 years, I was part of a collaborative project, “Film Night at the Grant Museum”. Partners included Jack Ashby, Mark Carnall, and Dean Veall. Jack promoted the films as “On the Big Screen” events. Each quarter, […]

Robert Edmond Grant’s 1829 Summer Lectures Announced

When University College London (then, University of London) chose its first set of academics, Professor Robert Edmond Grant (1793-1874) was elected to the post of Professor of Zoology and Comparative Anatomy in 1827. He delivered […]

Simpson's (1944) Tempo and Mode in Evolution and Simpson's (1953) Major Features of Evolution compared

Comparing Tempo and Mode (1944) with Major Features (1953) by George Gaylord Simpson

This post compares two of George Gaylord Simpson’s major theoretical works: Tempo and Mode in Evolution (1944) and Major Features of Evolution (1953). Both were published by Columbia University Press in their Columbia Biological Series. […]

George Gaylord Simpson’s (1953) The Major Features of Evolution. Title page

Major Features of Evolution (1953) by George Gaylord Simpson

George Gaylord Simpson‘s (1902-1984) book, Major Features of Evolution, was published in 1953 by Columbia University Press in their Columbia Biological Series. This book played an important part in the expansion of evolutionary studies in […]

G. Ledyard Stebbins’s (1950) Variation and Evolution in Plants. Title page

Variation and Evolution in Plants (1950) by G. Ledyard Stebbins

G. Ledyard Stebbins‘ (1906-2000) book, Variation and Evolution in Plants, was published in 1950 by Columbia University Press in their Columbia Biological Series. This book played an important part in the expansion of evolutionary studies […]

George Gaylord Simpson’s (1944) Tempo and Mode in Evolution. Title page

Tempo and Mode in Evolution (1944) by George Gaylord Simpson

George Gaylord Simpson‘s (1902-1984) book, Tempo and Mode in Evolution, was published in 1944 by Columbia University Press in their Columbia Biological Series. This book played an important part in the expansion of evolutionary studies […]