Frederick Webb Headley (10 April 1856 – 25 November 1919) was an English educator, naturalist, and author of books on

evolution Evolution is the change in the heritable Phenotypic trait, characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. It occurs when evolutionary processes such as natural selection and genetic drift act on genetic variation, re ...

and

Darwinism ''Darwinism'' is a term used to describe a theory of biological evolution developed by the English naturalist Charles Darwin (1809–1882) and others. The theory states that all species of organisms arise and develop through the natural sel ...

. He was a master at

Haileybury College Haileybury is a co-educational public school (fee-charging boarding and day school for 11- to 18-year-olds) located in Hertford Heath, Hertfordshire. It is a member of the Rugby Group and enrols pupils at the 11+, 13+ and 16+ stages of edu ...

where he was involved in establishing the natural history museum and inculcating an interest in natural history among students.

Life and work

Frederick was the second son of Rev. Henry Headley, of Brinsop Vicarage,

Herefordshire Herefordshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England, bordered by Shropshire to the north, Worcestershire to the east, Gloucestershire to the south-east, and the Welsh ...

. He was educated at

Harrow School Harrow School () is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English boarding school for boys) in Harrow on the Hill, Greater London, England. The school was founded in 1572 by John Lyon (school founder), John Lyon, a local landowner an ...

and the Caius College,

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

, graduating first class in the Classical Tripos in 1878, later appointed Assistant Master at

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and one of the home counties. It borders Bedfordshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Essex to the east, Greater London to the ...

, by Edward Bradby where he remained until shortly before his death in Epsom following an operation. He resigned his mastership in July 1914 and sought to make a trip to Sudan but World War I ended the plan and he volunteered during the war. and returned to Haileybury. He knew French and German and took an interest in art, literature, music and natural history. He had a special interest in bird flight and while at Haileybury he was involved in organizing the natural history museum and the running of the Haileybury natural history society. Headley followed the ideas of

Conwy Lloyd Morgan Conwy Lloyd Morgan, FRS (6 February 1852 – 6 March 1936) was a British ethologist and psychologist. He is remembered for his theory of emergent evolution, and for the experimental approach to animal psychology now known as Morgan's Canon, a ...

on bird behaviour being largely instinctive and dismissed anthropomorphism. The

Fabian Society The Fabian Society () is a History of the socialist movement in the United Kingdom, British socialist organisation whose purpose is to advance the principles of social democracy and democratic socialism via gradualist and reformist effort in ...

invited him in 1903 where he argued that socialism was incompatible with Darwinian evolutionary theory. Headley was a member of the

British Ornithologists' Union The British Ornithologists' Union (BOU) aims to encourage the study of birds (ornithology) around the world in order to understand their biology and aid their conservation. The BOU was founded in 1858 by Professor Alfred Newton, Henry Baker ...

and a Fellow of the

Zoological Society of London The Zoological Society of London (ZSL) is a charity and organization devoted to the worldwide animal conservation, conservation of animals and their habitat conservation, habitats. It was founded in 1826. Since 1828, it has maintained London Zo ...

. A keen alpinist he was a member of the Alpine Club and took an interest in the birds of the Swiss alps, apart from making trips to Algeria, Spain, the Baltic islands and Texel.

Bibliography

*'' The Structure and Life of Birds'', London and New York, Macmillan and Co. (1895) *'' Problems of Evolution'', London, Duckworth (1900) *'' Fauna and Flora of Haileybury'', Hartford, Stephen Austin (1902) * ''Life and evolution'', London: Duckworth (1906) *'' Darwinism and Modern Socialism'', London, Methuen (1909) *'' The Flight of Birds'', London, Witherby & Co. (1912) *''The Country Round Haileybury'', Cambridge, University Press (private printing, 1920) This last title was left unfinished at Headley's death; it was completed for the press by W. Kennedy, who also added a second section on local history and antiquities.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Headley, Frederick Webb 1856 births 1919 deaths English naturalists 19th-century English writers 20th-century British writers People educated at Harrow School Alumni of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge English zoologists Fellows of the Zoological Society of London English ornithologists