“Mibiri Creek, Demerara River | Mr Edmonstone’s Wood Cutting Establishment” from Thomas Staunton St. Clair, A Residence in the West Indies and America (London, 1834), vol. 2, facing p. 187.
Blog

John Edmonstone: References from Charles Darwin

Charles Darwin made reference to many people in his writings. Most were correspondents who sent him pieces of useful information. Others were writers whose work he used, promoted, or criticised. In his 1871 book, Descent […]

Ronald Aylmer Fisher was a eugenicist. This image from 1943 courtesy National Portrait Gallery
Blog

What’s Wrong With Fisher? He Was A Eugenicist

UCL Department of Genetics, Evolution and Environment has taken the decision to de-name the R A Fisher Centre for Computational Biology owing to Fisher’s life-long commitment to eugenics research and campaigning. It is now the UCL Centre for […]

T.T. Martin Headquarters, Anti-Evolution League at 1925 Scopes Monkey Trial
Films

Scopes Monkey Trial 1925: Innes Lecture 2020

For the Innes Lecture 2020, I discussed the 1925 Scopes Monkey Trial. Owing to COVID-related public health restrictions, we moved this lecture online. Details on access now are available through the John Innes Centre. The […]

Protest by University of London medical students at Brown Dog Statue in Battersea Park (from Ford 1908)
History of Science

Eyewitness to the Brown Dog Affair

Edward K. Ford was an eyewitness to history. In 1907, London medical students protested over a statue raised to a little brown dog. Bonfires burned late into the night. Large groups marched through the streets […]