1887-1975

British biologist who specialized in ornithology, but is best known for his contribution to the neo-Darwinian synthesis. He was the grandson of the famous Darwinist T.H. Huxley, and became a professor at King's College in London. In 1942 he published Evolution, the Modern Synthesis, which argued that Darwinian natural selection and Mendelian genetics could be combined to explain biological evolution. Huxley was involved in founding the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization, becoming its first director in 1946. He also wrote many works trying to integrate his vision of atheistic Darwinian evolution into a total world view.