Sir Paul Patrick Gordon Bateson, (31 March 1938 – 1 August 2017) was an English

biologist A biologist is a scientist who conducts research in biology. Biologists are interested in studying life on Earth, whether it is an individual Cell (biology), cell, a multicellular organism, or a Community (ecology), community of Biological inter ...

with interests in

ethology Ethology is a branch of zoology that studies the behavior, behaviour of non-human animals. It has its scientific roots in the work of Charles Darwin and of American and German ornithology, ornithologists of the late 19th and early 20th cen ...

and

phenotypic plasticity Phenotypic plasticity refers to some of the changes in an organism's behavior, morphology and physiology in response to a unique environment. Fundamental to the way in which organisms cope with environmental variation, phenotypic plasticity encompa ...

. Bateson was a

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...

at the

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 ...

and served as president 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 ...

from 2004 to 2014.

Education

Bateson was educated at

Westminster School Westminster School is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Westminster, London, England, in the precincts of Westminster Abbey. It descends from a charity school founded by Westminster Benedictines before the Norman Conquest, as do ...

and

King's College, Cambridge King's College, formally The King's College of Our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge, is a List of colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college lies beside the River Cam and faces ...

where he was awarded a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

degree in

zoology Zoology ( , ) is the scientific study of animals. Its studies include the anatomy, structure, embryology, Biological classification, classification, Ethology, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinction, extinct, and ...

in 1960 and a

PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

for research on

animal behaviour Ethology is a branch of zoology that studies the behavior, behaviour of non-human animals. It has its scientific roots in the work of Charles Darwin and of American and German ornithology, ornithologists of the late 19th and early 20th cen ...

supervised by

Robert Hinde Robert Aubrey Hinde (26 October 1923 – 23 December 2016) was a British zoologist, ethologist and psychologist.Bateson, P., Stevenson-Hinde, J., & Clutton-Brock, T. (2018). Robert Aubrey Hinde CBE. 26 October 1923—23 December 2016. 65 ...

Career and research

Bateson was a biologist who specialised in researching the behaviour of animals and how it is influenced by genetic and environmental factors. He was a world authority on imprinting in birds – the process of learning to recognise their parents and members of their own species – and his work led to new principles in behavioural development. One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from the royalsociety.org website where: Bateson devised original experiments that showed how characteristics of imprinting depend on the bird's early life experiences. Bateson's investigation of learning in birds has led to greater understanding of the neural basis of memory. He had an interest in how developmental and behavioural processes influence evolution. Bateson was concerned with the ethics of using animals in research and the analysis of animal pain and suffering. This led to a study exploring the effects hunting with hounds had on red deer, an inquiry into dog breeding, and a review of the use of animals in research. Previous academic positions include a

Harkness Fellowship The Harkness Fellowship (previously known as the Commonwealth Fund Fellowship) is a program run by the Commonwealth Fund of New York City. This fellowship was established to reciprocate the Rhodes Scholarships and enable Fellows from several co ...

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

and ten years as head of the Cambridge sub-department of Animal Behaviour. Bateson served five years as biological secretary to the Royal Society and fifteen years as

provost Provost may refer to: Officials Ecclesiastic * Provost (religion), a high-ranking church official * Prince-provost, a high-ranking church official Government * Provost (civil), an officer of local government, including the equivalent ...

, retiring from both in 2003. He retired from his Cambridge Chair in 2005. Bateson published on such topics as ethology,

animal welfare Animal welfare is the quality of life and overall well-being of animals. Formal standards of animal welfare vary between contexts, but are debated mostly by animal welfare groups, legislators, and academics. Animal welfare science uses measures ...

, behavioral development and

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 ...

Selected publications

* ''Growing Points in Ethology'', with

(1976) * ''Mate Choice'' (1983) * ''The Development and Integration of Behaviour'' (1991) * ''Assessment of Pain in Animals'' (1991) * ''Behavioural Mechanisms in Evolutionary Perspective'' (1992) * ''Measuring Behaviour'', with

Paul Martin Paul Edgar Philippe Martin (born August 28, 1938), also known as Paul Martin Jr., is a Canadian lawyer and retired politician who served as the 21st prime minister of Canada and the leader of the Liberal Party of Canada from 2003 to 2006. Th ...

(3rd edition 2007) * ''The Behavioural and Physiological Effects of Culling Red Deer'' (1997) * ''Perspectives in Ethology'' (series) * ''Design for a Life'', with Paul Martin (1999); 2000 hbk ; 2001 pbk * "Innateness and the sciences", with Matteo Mameli (2006), ''Biology & Philosophy'', https://doi.org/10.1007/s10539-005-5144-0 * ''Independent Inquiry into Dog Breeding'' (2010) * ''Review of Research using Non-Human Primates'' (2011) * "An evaluation of the concept of innateness", with Matteo Mameli (2011), ''Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society'', https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2010.0174 * ''Plasticity, Robustness, Development and Evolution'', with Peter Gluckman (2011) * ''Play, Playfulness, Creativity and Innovation'', with Paul Martin (2013) *

Awards and honours

Bateson was

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

for services to science in the

2003 Birthday Honours The 2003 Queen's Birthday Honours were announced on 14 June 2003 for the United Kingdom and on 2 June 2003 for New Zealand. The recipients of honours are displayed here as they were styled before their new honour. United Kingdom Knight Bachelo ...

list. He received an Honorary

Doctor of Science A Doctor of Science (; most commonly abbreviated DSc or ScD) is a science doctorate awarded in a number of countries throughout the world. Africa Algeria and Morocco In Algeria, Morocco, Libya and Tunisia, all universities accredited by the s ...

(ScD) degree from the

University of St Andrews The University of St Andrews (, ; abbreviated as St And in post-nominals) is a public university in St Andrews, Scotland. It is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, oldest of the four ancient universities of Scotland and, f ...

and an honorary fellowship from

Queen Mary University of London Queen Mary University of London (QMUL, or informally QM, and formerly Queen Mary and Westfield College) is a public university, public research university in Mile End, East London, England. It is a member institution of the federal University ...

. He was elected a

Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the Fellows of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural science, natural knowledge, incl ...

(FRS) in 1983. In 2014 he received the

Frink Medal The Frink Medal for British Zoologists is awarded by the Zoological Society of London "for significant and original contributions by a professional zoologist to the development of zoology." It consists of a bronze plaque (76 by 83 millimetres), dep ...

from the

Personal life

Patrick Bateson's grandfather's cousin was the

geneticist A geneticist is a biologist or physician who studies genetics, the science of genes, heredity, and variation of organisms. A geneticist can be employed as a scientist or a lecturer. Geneticists may perform general research on genetic process ...

William Bateson William Bateson (8 August 1861 – 8 February 1926) was an English biologist who was the first person to use the term genetics to describe the study of heredity, and the chief populariser of the ideas of Gregor Mendel following their rediscover ...

. Patrick's daughter is Melissa Bateson, also a professor of ethology, at

Newcastle University Newcastle University (legally the University of Newcastle upon Tyne) is a public research university based in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It has overseas campuses in Singapore and Malaysia. The university is a red brick university and a mem ...

. Patrick Bateson was an atheist."A confirmed agnostic, he atesonwas converted to atheism after attending a dinner where he tried to converse with a woman who was a creationist. "For many years what had been good enough for Darwin was good enough for me. Not long after that dreadful dinner, Richard Dawkins wrote to me to ask whether I would publicly affirm my atheism. I could see no reason why not." " Lewis Smith, 'Science has second thoughts about life', The Times (London), 1 January 2008, Pg. 24. He died on 1 August 2017 at the age of 79.

External links

*
Interviewed by Alan Macfarlane December 2007 (video)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bateson, Patrick 1938 births 2017 deaths Alumni of King's College, Cambridge British animal welfare scholars English biologists English male non-fiction writers English science writers Ethologists Fellows of King's College, Cambridge Fellows of the Royal Society Harkness Fellows Knights Bachelor International members of the American Philosophical Society People educated at Westminster School, London Presidents of the Zoological Society of London Provosts of King's College, Cambridge Presidents of the Cambridge Philosophical Society