Thomas James Jenkin (1885–1965) was professor of agriculture at

University College of Wales Aberystwyth University () is a Public university, public Research university, research university in Aberystwyth, Wales. Aberystwyth was a founding member institution of the former federal University of Wales. The university has over 8,000 stude ...

Aberystwyth Aberystwyth (; ) is a University town, university and seaside town and a community (Wales), community in Ceredigion, Wales. It is the largest town in Ceredigion and from Aberaeron, the county's other administrative centre. In 2021, the popula ...

and director of the

Welsh Plant Breeding Station The Institute of Biological, Environmental and Rural Sciences (IBERS) is a department of Aberystwyth University within its Faculty of Earth and Life Sciences, and is located in Aberystwyth, Ceredigion, Wales. It has a remit for teaching, researc ...

from 1942 to 1950.

Biography

Thomas James Jenkin was born in 1885 in

Maenclochog Maenclochog () is a village, parish and Community (Wales), community in Pembrokeshire, south-west Wales. It is also the name of Maenclochog (electoral ward), an electoral ward comprising a wider area of four surrounding communities. Maenclochog C ...

Pembrokeshire Pembrokeshire ( ; ) is a Principal areas of Wales, county in the South West Wales, south-west of Wales. It is bordered by Carmarthenshire to the east, Ceredigion to the northeast, and otherwise by the sea. Haverfordwest is the largest town and ...

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

. He was Agricultural Officer for Brecon and Radnorshire from 1914 to 1915 and advisor in agricultural botany at the

University College of North Wales Bangor University () is a public research university in Bangor, Gwynedd, Wales. It was established by Royal Charter in 1885 as the University College of North Wales (UCNW; ), and in 1893 became one of the founding institutions of the federal ...

, Bangor from 1915 to 1920. In 1919 he was appointed by Sir George Stapledon as grass breeder at the newly formed

. He was an early pioneer of grass breeding and genetics and made some of the earliest advances in hybridisation of grass species. He succeeded Stapledon as director of the WPBS in 1942, on the recommendation of

J. B. S. Haldane John Burdon Sanderson Haldane (; 5 November 18921 December 1964), nicknamed "Jack" or "JBS", was a British-born scientist who later moved to India and acquired Indian citizenship. He worked in the fields of physiology, genetics, evolutionary ...

. He was President of the

Aberystwyth Old Students' Association Aberystwyth Old Students' Association (), founded in 1892, is Aberystwyth University's alumni association and is one of the oldest such associations in the United Kingdom. It currently has more than 10,000 Members and 100,000 Associate Members w ...

in 1943–44. He retired as director in 1950 and died in 1965.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jenkin, T. J. 1885 births 1965 deaths Academics of Aberystwyth University Aberystwyth Old Students' Association Welsh scholars and academics 20th-century Welsh scientists 20th-century British botanists