Sir Leonard George Holden Huxley (29 May 1902 – 4 September 1988) was an Australian

physicist A physicist is a scientist who specializes in the field of physics, which encompasses the interactions of matter and energy at all length and time scales in the physical universe. Physicists generally are interested in the root or ultimate cau ...

. Huxley was born in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, the eldest son of George Hamborough and Lilian Huxley. He was a second-cousin once removed of

Thomas Huxley Thomas Henry Huxley (4 May 1825 – 29 June 1895) was an English biologist and anthropologist who specialized in comparative anatomy. He has become known as "Darwin's Bulldog" for his advocacy of Charles Darwin's theory of evolution. The stor ...

. His family migrated from

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

to Australia in 1905 when he was three, and settled in

Tasmania Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...

, where Huxley showed great academic and sporting promise while attending

The Hutchins School The Hutchins School is an Anglican, day and boarding school for boys from pre-kindergarten to Year 12 in Hobart, Tasmania. Established in 1846, Hutchins is one of the oldest continually operating schools in Australia. Hutchins is a founding-m ...

. He won a

Rhodes Scholarship The Rhodes Scholarship is an international postgraduate award for students to study at the University of Oxford in Oxford, United Kingdom. The scholarship is open to people from all backgrounds around the world. Established in 1902, it is ...

New College, Oxford New College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1379 by Bishop William of Wykeham in conjunction with Winchester College as New College's feeder school, New College was one of the first col ...

while in his second year at the

University of Tasmania The University of Tasmania (UTAS) is a public research university, primarily located in Tasmania, Australia. Founded in 1890, it is Australia's fourth oldest university. Christ College (University of Tasmania), Christ College, one of the unive ...

and obtained a D.Phil. from Oxford in 1928. On 5 October 1929 he married Ella Mary Child 'Molly' Copeland who was reading history at

Somerville College Somerville College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. It was founded in 1879 as Somerville Hall, one of its first two women's colleges. It began admitting men in 1994. The college's liberal tone derives from its f ...

. first published in Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 17, (MUP), 2007. Huxley was a physicist at the Australian Radio Research Board,

Council for Scientific and Industrial Research A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or nati ...

1929 to 1931; Lecturer in Physics, University College, Leicester 1932 to 1940; Principal Scientific Officer,

Ministry of Aircraft Production Ministry may refer to: Government * Ministry (collective executive), the complete body of government ministers under the leadership of a prime minister * Ministry (government department), a department of a government Religion * Christian mi ...

, UK 1940 to 1946; Reader in Electromagnetism,

University of Birmingham The University of Birmingham (informally Birmingham University) is a Public university, public research university in Birmingham, England. It received its royal charter in 1900 as a successor to Queen's College, Birmingham (founded in 1825 as ...

1946 to 1949; Professor of Physics,

University of Adelaide The University of Adelaide is a public university, public research university based in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third-oldest university in Australia. Its main campus in the Adelaide city centre includes many Sa ...

1949 to 1960; and Vice-Chancellor,

Australian National University The Australian National University (ANU) is a public university, public research university and member of the Group of Eight (Australian universities), Group of Eight, located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton, A ...

1960 to 1967.HUXLEY, Leonard George Holden
Physics in Australia to 1945. Huxley was president of the Australian Branch of the

Institute of Physics The Institute of Physics (IOP) is a UK-based not-for-profit learned society and professional body that works to advance physics education, physics research, research and applied physics, application. It was founded in 1874 and has a worldwide ...

(UK) 1954 to 1955; and president of the

Australian Institute of Physics The Australian Institute of Physics was established in 1963, when it replaced the Australian Branch of the British Institute of Physics based in London.

1962 to 1965. He was elected a Foundation Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science in 1953, originally published in ''Historical Records of the Australian Academy of Science'', vol. 8, no. 4, Canberra, Australia, 1991, p 249. and knighted in 1964. Huxley died in

at the age of 86.

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* * * * 1902 births 1988 deaths Australian physicists Academics of the University of Leicester Australian Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire Australian Rhodes Scholars Fellows of the Australian Academy of Science Alumni of New College, Oxford

Leonard Leonard or ''Leo'' is a common English language, English masculine given name and a surname. The given name and surname originate from the Old High German ''Leonhard'' containing the prefix ''levon'' ("lion") from the Greek wikt:Λέων#Greek, Λ ...

Academics of the University of Birmingham English emigrants to Australia Vice-chancellors of the Australian National University Presidents of the Australian Institute of Physics Civil servants in the Ministry of Aircraft Production People from Tasmania People educated at The Hutchins School {{physicist-stub

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