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Huxley family

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The '''Huxley family''' is a British family of which several members have excelled in scientific, medical, artistic, and literary fields. The family also includes members who occupied senior public positions in the service of the [[United Kingdom]].

The patriarch of the family was the zoologist and comparative anatomist [[Thomas Henry Huxley]] (referred to here as THH). THH's grandsons include [[Aldous Huxley]], author of ''[[Brave New World]]'' and ''[[Doors of Perception]]'', his brother [[Julian Huxley]], evolutionist and first director of [[UNESCO]], and Nobel laureate [[physiologist]] [[Andrew Huxley]].

==Family tree==

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{{familytree | JH | | AH | | DBH | | AFH |~| RP | | OH | | GH |~| EG | | | | LC |OH=Oriana Huxley Waller|JH=[[Julian Huxley]] 1887-1975|AH=[[Aldous Huxley]] 1894-1963|DBH=David Bruce Huxley 1915-1992| AFH=[[Andrew Huxley]] 1917-2012|RP=Richenda Pease 1925-2003|GH=Gervas Huxley 1894-1971|EG=[[Elspeth Huxley|Elspeth Grant]] 1907-1997|LC=[[Laurence Collier]] 1890-1976}}

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== Thomas Henry Huxley ==

[[Image:Huxley7.jpg|thumb|left|200px|<center>Thomas Henry Huxley with sketch of gorilla skull c.1870]]

[[Thomas Henry Huxley]] (1825–1895) was an English biologist, known as "Darwin's Bulldog" for his defense of [[Charles Darwin]]'s [[theory of evolution]]. Mostly a self-educated man, he had an extraordinary influence on the British educated public. He was instrumental in developing scientific education in Britain, and opposed those Christian leaders who tried to stifle scientific debate. He was a member of eight [[Royal Commission]]s and two other commissions. A noted [[unbeliever]], he used the term "[[agnostic]]" to describe his attitude to [[theism]].

Though Huxley was a great [[Comparative anatomy|comparative anatomist]] and [[invertebrate]] [[zoologist]], perhaps his most notable scientific achievement was his work on [[human evolution]]. Starting in 1858, Huxley gave lectures and published papers which analysed the zoological position of man. The best were collected in a landmark work: ''[[Evidence as to Man's Place in Nature]]'' (1863). This contained two themes: first, humans are related to the great apes, and second, the species has evolved in a similar manner to all other forms of life. These were ideas which the careful and cautious Darwin had only hinted at in ''[[The Origin of Species]]'', but with which Huxley was in full agreement.

In 1855, he married Henrietta Anne Heathorn (1825–1915), an English émigrée whom he had met in [[Sydney]]. They had five daughters and three sons:

*Noel Huxley (1856–1860), died aged 4.

*'''Jessie Oriana Huxley''' (1856–1927), married architect Fred Waller in 1877.

*'''Marian Huxley''' (1859–1887) married artist [[John Collier (artist)|John Collier]] in 1879.

*[[Leonard Huxley (writer)|Leonard Huxley]] (1860–1933), married Julia Arnold.

*'''Rachel Huxley''' (1862–1934) married civil engineer Alfred Eckersley in 1884.

*'''Henrietta (Nettie) Huxley''' (1863–1940), married Harold Roller, travelled Europe as a singer.

*'''Henry Huxley''' (1865–1946), became a fashionable general practitioner in London.

*'''Ethel Huxley''' (1866–1941) married artist John Collier (widower of sister) in 1889.

=== John Collier (son-in-law) ===

[[File:Collier, Marion - Portrait of John Collier - circa 1882-1883.jpg|thumb|upright|<center>John Collier by his first wife Marian, née Huxley ~1882]]

[[John Collier (artist)|John Collier]] was not a Huxley by birth, but by marriage twice over: both his wives were daughters of THH. The Honourable John Maler Collier [[OBE]] [[Royal Society of Portrait Painters|RP]] [[Royal Institute of Oil Painters|ROI]] (January 27, 1850–April 11, 1934) was a writer and painter in the [[Pre-Raphaelite]] style. He was one of the leading portrait painters of his generation. The [[National Portrait Gallery (United Kingdom)|National Portrait Gallery]]'s collection of his portraiture is weak, but in 2007 it bought his first wife's portrait of him painting her.

Collier's views on religion and ethics are interesting for their comparison with the views of THH and Julian Huxley, both of whom gave [[Romanes lecture]]s on that subject. In ''The religion of an artist'' (1926) Collier explains "It [the book] is mostly concerned with ethics apart from religion... I am looking forward to a time when ethics will have taken the place of religion... My religion is really negative. [The benefits of religion] can be attained by other means which are less conducive to strife and which put less strain on upon the reasoning faculties". On [[secular morality]]: "My standard is frankly [[utilitarian]]. As far as morality is intuitive, I think it may be reduced to an inherent impulse of kindliness towards our fellow citizens". On the idea of God: "People may claim without much exaggeration that the belief in God is universal. They omit to add that superstition, often of the most degraded kind, is just as universal". And "An omnipotent Deity who sentences even the vilest of his creatures to eternal torture is infinitely more cruel than the cruellest man". And on the Church: "To me, as to most Englishmen, the triumph of [[Roman Catholicism]] would mean an unspeakable disaster to the cause of civilization". His views, then, were very close to the [[agnosticism]] of THH and the [[humanism]] of Julian Huxley.

[[File:Marion Collier (née Huxley) by John Collier.jpg|thumb|upright|left|Marian Huxley by John Collier, 1883]]

Collier and his first wife Marian (Mady) had one child, '''Joyce''', a portrait miniaturist. She married twice, first to ''Leslie Crawshay-Williams'', whose family were South Wales ironmasters. They had two children '''Rupert Crawshay-Williams''' and '''Gillian'''. Joyce next married ''Drysdale Kilburn''; they had a son, '''Nicholas Kilburn'''.

By his second wife Ethel he had a daughter and a son, Sir '''[[Laurence Collier]]''' [[KCMG]], (1890–1976), British Ambassador to Norway 1939–1950. In later life Ethel became known as ''The Dragon'', and then ''The Grand-Dragon'' to her grand-children. She vetted all the family marriages; inspecting Elizabeth Powell for prospective marriage to Rupert Crawshay-Williams (her stepdaughter's son) she said "You are marrying into one of the great [[atheist]] families; I know you are an atheist now, but will you be able to keep it up until you die?" <ref>Clark R.W. 1968. ''The Huxleys''. p180</ref> The bridegroom started working for ''Gramophone Records'', but became a philosopher and writer. He was the author of ''The comforts of unreason'' (1947); ''Methods and criteria of reasoning'' (1957) and ''Russell remembered'' (1970); a homage to [[Bertrand Russell]].

Ethel's daughter Joan married Captain (later General) ''Frank Anstie Buzzard''. They had three children: '''John Huxley Buzzard''', '''Richard Buzzard''', and '''Pamela'''.

==== Collier's portraits of the family and others ====

Collier painted numerous portraits of members of the family. He painted both his wives, Marian (Mady) and Ethel; his children; both THH and his wife; and many of the next two generations. Indeed, a biographer reports a total of ''thirty-two'' Huxley family portraits during the half-century after his marriage to Mady.<ref>Clark R.W. 1968. ''The Huxleys''. p98</ref> His favourite sitter was his eldest daughter Joyce, of whom six portraits are recorded.<ref>Here, and elsewhere, the source is Collier's manuscript notebook of his paintings, in the archives of the National Portrait Gallery, London.</ref> Second wife Ethel sat for four portraits; their children, Joan and Laurence, the Buzzard children, Laurence's wife Eleanor, and several of their children were also portrayed. Many of Huxley's children and some of his grand-children were portrayed: [[Leonard Huxley (writer)|Leonard Huxley]], [[Julian Huxley|Julian and Juliette Huxley]], [[Aldous Huxley]]; Henry (Harry) Huxley and his wife, and son Gervas; Henrietta (Nettie) Huxley; and there are others.

Many scientific friends and supporters of Huxley sat for Collier. Darwin and Huxley themselves, twice each – and there were a number of replica portraits of Darwin and Huxley made by Collier. [[George John Romanes]], [[William Kingdom Clifford]], Sir [[Joseph Dalton Hooker]], [[William Spottiswoode]], Sir [[John Lubbock, 1st Baron Avebury|John Lubbock]], [[E. Ray Lankester]] and Sir [[Michael Foster (physiologist)|Michael Foster]] were all important friends. [[Francis Maitland Balfour|Francis Balfour]] and [[John Tyndall]] were portrayed after their tragic deaths.

=== Sir Leonard George Holden Huxley (distant cousin)===

Sir [[Leonard George Holden Huxley]] [[Order of the British Empire|KBE]] (1902–1988) was second cousin once removed of T.H.H. Much of his life was spent in Australia, though he was at Oxford from 1923–30. He obtained his [[D.Phil]] from [[Oxford University]] in 1928. The final period of his life was spent in Australia, [[University of Adelaide]] (1949–60); [[Australian National University]] (1960–67), latterly as [[Vice-Chancellor]]. A key figure in the establishment of the [[Anglo-Australian Telescope]].<ref>Crompton R.W. 1982. ''Records of the Australian Academy of Science'', '''8''', #4. Huxley L.G.H. 1947. ''The diffusion and drift of electrons in gases''.</ref>

== Leonard Huxley and issue ==

[[Leonard Huxley (writer)|Leonard Huxley]] (1860–1933), the most prominent of THH's children, had six children, several of whom left their mark on the twentieth century. He was a teacher (assistant master) at [[Charterhouse School|Charterhouse]], then assistant editor and later editor of the ''[[Cornhill Magazine]]''. Huxley's major biographies were the three volumes of ''Life and Letters of Thomas Henry Huxley'' and the two volumes of ''Life and Letters of Sir [[Joseph Dalton Hooker]] OM GCSI''.

His first wife was Julia Arnold (1862–1908), founder in 1902 of [[Prior's Field School]] a still existing girl's school in [[Godalming|Godalming, Surrey]]. Through her Leonard was connected to the intellectual family of the Arnolds: his wife's father was [[Tom Arnold (academic)|Tom Arnold]] (1823–1900), who married Julia Sorell, granddaughter of a former governor of Tasmania. Julia Arnold's sister was the best-selling novelist [[Mary Augusta Ward|Mary]] (who wrote as Mrs Humphry Ward), her uncle the poet [[Matthew Arnold]], and her grandfather the influential [[Rugby School]] headmaster [[Thomas Arnold]]. In her youth she and her sister Ethel had inspired Charles Dodgson (aka [[Lewis Carroll]]) to invent doublet (now called [[word ladder]]).[http://www.lewiscarroll.org/news/times060298.html]

Leonard and Julia had four children, including the biologist [[Julian Huxley|Sir Julian Sorell Huxley]] and the writer [[Aldous Huxley|Aldous Leonard Huxley]]. Their middle son, '''Noel Trevenen''' (born in 1889) committed suicide in 1914. Their daughter, '''Margaret Arnold Huxley''', was born in 1899 and died on 11 October 1981.

After the death of his first wife, Leonard married Rosalind Bruce (1890–1994), and had two further sons. The elder of these was '''David Bruce Huxley''' (born 1915), whose daughter '''Angela Huxley''' married '''George Pember Darwin''', son of the physicist Sir [[Charles Galton Darwin]] (and thus a great-grandson of [[Charles Darwin]] married a great-granddaughter of [[Thomas Huxley]]). The younger son (1917-2012) was the [[Nobel Prize]] winner, physiologist [[Andrew Huxley|Andrew Fielding Huxley]].

A Plaque was erected in 1995 at the house in Bracknell Gardens, Hampstead<ref>{{openplaque|24}}</ref> to commemorate Leonard, Julian and Aldous 'Men of Science and Letters, lived here.'

===Sir Julian Huxley===

[[Image:Hux-Oxon-72.jpg|thumb|right|Julian Huxley when Fellow of New College, Oxford 1922.]]

[[Julian Huxley]] (1887–1975) was the first Director-General of [[UNESCO]]. He was Secretary of [[Zoological Society]] and co-founder of the [[World Wildlife Fund]]. He won the [[Darwin Medal]] of the [[Royal Society]], the [[Darwin-Wallace Medal]] of the [[Linnaean Society]], the [[Kalinga Prize]] and the [[Lasker Award]]. He presided over the founding conference for the [[International Humanist and Ethical Union]]. He wrote fifty books.

Julian was important as a proponent of [[natural selection]] at a time when [[Charles Darwin|Darwin]]'s idea was denigrated by many. His master-work ''[[Evolution: The Modern Synthesis]]'' gave the name to a mid-century movement which united biological theory and overcame problems caused by over-specialisation.

Julian married Juliette Baillot in 1919.<ref>http://www.findmypast.co.uk/records/england-and-wales/details/M/55230997?e=M&fY=1837&tY=2005&iSnV=false&sn=huxley&iFnsV=false&fns=julian&rC=5&route=X</ref> They had two children, and both became scientists: '''[[Anthony Julian Huxley]]''', a botanist and horticulturalist, and '''Francis Huxley''', an anthropologist.

A [[Wetherspoon]] Public house in [[Selsdon]] was named after him as he was one of the main backers of the [[Selsdon Wood]] Nature Reserve.<ref>http://www.jdwetherspoon.co.uk/home/pubs/the-sir-julian-huxley</ref>

=== Aldous Huxley ===

[[Aldous Huxley]] (1894–1963) was an outstanding novelist. His style was [[Iconoclasm|iconoclastic]]; disenchanted social commentary and a dystopic view of the future were repeated themes. He was regarded in California, where he spent the latter part of his life, as a considerable intellectual guru. His main works include ''[[Crome Yellow]]'' (1921), ''[[Antic Hay]]'' (1923), ''[[Brave New World]]'' (1932), which began as a parody of ''[[Men Like Gods]]'' by [[H.G. Wells]], ''[[Eyeless in Gaza]]'' (1936) and ''[[Island (Huxley novel)|Island]]'' (1960). ''Island'', his last novel, is set in a utopia, in profound contrast to the distopian ''Brave New World''. The central theme is the development of a society which unites the best of western and eastern culture. It contains, amongst more serious ideas, the utterly charming notion of parrots who utter uplifting slogans. Huxley also wrote many essays: ''[[The Doors of Perception]]'' which he wrote while experimenting with [[mescaline]], (1954), is perhaps the best known collection. Its title was taken from a poem by [[William Blake]], and in turn inspired the name of the band [[The Doors]].

Aldous married twice, to Maria Nys (1919), and after her death, to [[Laura Huxley|Laura Archera]] (1956). His only child, '''[[Matthew Huxley]]''' (1920 – 10 February 2005, age 84) was also an author, as well as an educator, anthropologist and prominent epidemiologist. His work ranged from promoting universal health care to establishing standards of care for nursing home patients and the mentally ill to investigating the question of what is a socially sanctionable drug.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A31009-2005Feb16.html | title=Author, NIMH Epidemiologist Matthew Huxley Dies at 84 | work=[[Washington Post]] | date=February 17, 2005 | accessdate=October 19, 2012 | author=Sullivan, Patricia}}</ref> Matthew's first marriage, to documentary filmmaker '''Ellen Hovde''', ended in divorce. His second wife died in 1983. He was survived by his third wife, '''Franziska Reed Huxley'''; and two children from his first marriage, '''Trevenen Huxley''' and '''Tessa Huxley'''.

=== David Bruce Huxley ===

Financier and lawyer (1915–1992). He served in [[World War II]] in Africa and [[Iraq]] reaching the rank of [[Brigade Major]] in the [[British Army]]. He became the youngest [[Queen's Counsel]] (QC) in the [[British Empire]]. In [[Bermuda]] in the 1940s and 1950s he was [[Solicitor General of Bermuda|Solicitor General]], [[Attorney General]], and acting Chief Justice of the [[Supreme Court of Bermuda|Supreme Court]]. He compiled and revised many of the laws of Bermuda. He married twice and had five children by his first wife. His daughter Angela married George Pember Darwin, and his son Michael became curator of science at the [[Smithsonian Institution]]. In retirement, David and his second wife, Ouida (who was raised by her aunt Ouida Rathbone, married to the actor [[Basil Rathbone]]) lived in Wansford-in-England, [[Cambridgeshire]], where he served as [[churchwarden]].<ref>''New York Times'' 23 September 1992 page B7, "David B. Huxley, 76, Financier and Official"</ref>

=== Andrew Huxley ===

[[Andrew Huxley]] (1917-2012), the last child of Leonard Huxley, was awarded the [[Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine]] for studies of the [[central nervous system]], especially the activity of [[action potentials|nerve fibres]]. He was knighted in 1974 and appointed to the [[Order of Merit]] in 1983. He was the second Huxley to be [[President of the Royal Society]], the first being his grandfather, T.H.H.

In 1947 he married Jocelyn Richenda Gammell Pease (1925–2003), the daughter of the geneticist [[Michael Pease]] and his wife Helen Bowen Wedgwood, the daughter of [[Josiah Wedgwood IV]]. They had one son and five daughters:

'''Janet Rachel Huxley''' (born 1948);

'''Stewart Leonard Huxley''' (born 1949);

'''Camilla Rosalind Huxley''' (born 1952);

'''Eleanor Bruce Huxley''' (born 1959);

'''Henrietta Catherine Huxley''' (born 1960);

'''Clare Marjory Pease Huxley''' (born 1962).

== Jessica Oriana Huxley (1858–1927) and issue ==

Jessica, the eldest daughter of THH, survived [[scarlet fever]] when two years old, a disease which had killed her brother Noel. She grew up to marry Frederick Waller, who became architect to the Dean and Chapter of [[Gloucester Cathedral]] and unofficial architect-in-chief to the Huxley family.

Jessie and Fred had a son, '''Noel Huxley Waller''', and a daughter, '''Oriana Huxley Waller'''. Noel won the [[Military Cross]] in the [[Gloucestershire Regiment]] in [[World War I]], later becoming Colonel of the 5th Gloucesters, a [[Territorial Army (United Kingdom)|territorial battalion]] of the regiment. He succeeded his father as architect to Gloucester Cathedral, and had five children from two marriages. He married, first, Helen Durrant, with Anthony, Audrey, Oriana and Letitia as children. Then he married Marion Taylor, with daughters Marion and Priscilla.

Oriana married E. S. P. Haynes, an [[Eton College|Eton]] and [[Balliol College, Oxford|Balliol]] scholar who became a dedicated divorce law reformer. They had three daughters, Renée, Celia and Elvira. '''Renée''', a successful novelist, married [[Jerrard Tickell]], an Irish writer. They had three sons, one of whom, Crispin, became a distinguished civil servant. The daughter of another son, Patrick, is [[Clare Tickell|Dame Clare Tickell]], Chief Executive of [[Action for Children]]. Clare Tickell's brother, Adam, is Pro Vice Chancellor at the [[University of Birmingham]], which grew out of [[Mason Science College]] which Thomas Huxley formally opened in 1880.

=== Sir Crispin Tickell ===

[[Crispin Tickell|Sir Crispin Tickell]] [[Order of St Michael and St George|GCMG]] [[Royal Victorian Order|KCVO]] (born 1930) is a British diplomat, academic and environmentalist. He is the great-grandson of Jessica Huxley. He was [[Chef de Cabinet]] to the [[President of the European Commission]] (1977–1980), [[British Ambassador to Mexico]] (1981–1983), Permanent Secretary of the [[Official Development Assistance]] (now Department for International Development) (1984–1987), and British Ambassador to the [[United Nations]] and Permanent Representative on the [[UN Security Council]] (1987–1990).

Tickell was Warden of [[Green College, Oxford]], between 1990 and 1997 and is director of the Policy Foresight Programme of the ''James Martin Institute for Science and Civilization'' at the [[University of Oxford]]. He has been the recipient, between 1990 and 2006, of 23 honorary doctorates.

He is the president of the UK charity [[Tree Aid]], which enables communities in Africa's drylands to fight poverty and become self-reliant, while improving the environment. He has many interests, including [[climate change]], [[over-population|population issues]], conservation of biodiversity and the early [[history of the Earth]].

His son, [[Oliver Tickell]], is a journalist, author and campaigner on environmental issues.

== Rachel Huxley (1862–1934) and issue ==

Rachel Huxley, the fifth of THH's children, married civil engineer Alfred Eckersley in 1884, who built railways in various parts of the world. Their eldest son, '''Roger Huxley Eckersley''', was born in Algeria; their second, '''[[Thomas Lydwell Eckersley]]''', was born the next year. The family moved to Mexico, and their third son, '''[[Peter Eckersley (engineer)|Peter Eckersley]]''', was born there. All three children married and had issue.

Rachel married, secondly, Harold Shawcross, and they had two children, '''Betty''' and '''Anthony Shawcross'''. Anthony married Mary Donaldson, and they had three children, Elizabeth, Simon and David.<ref>data from family tree in Clark R.W. 1968. ''The Huxleys''. p376</ref>

== Henry Huxley (1865–1946) and issue ==

[[Image:Huxleys shooting party72.jpg|thumb|right|300px|A shooting party in Scotland, 1907 left: Henry Huxley; centre: Gervas Huxley; front left: Anne Huxley; front middle: Netty Huxley; front right: Dighton Pollock]]

Henry Huxley, the youngest son and penultimate child of THH, trained in medicine at [[St Bartholomew's Hospital]], London. He married Sophy Stobart, a nurse. As she was the daughter of a considerable landowning and churchgoing family in [[Yorkshire]], who were somewhat nervous of a connection with the son of a famous infidel, family meetings were held to smooth feelings and avoid difficulties.<ref>Clark R.W. 1968. ''The Huxleys''. p113</ref> After the marriage the couple were set up in London, with a medical practice for Henry.

The couple had five children: '''Marjorie''' (m. Sir E.J. Harding), '''Gervas''' (m. Elspeth), '''Michael''' (m. Ottille de Lotbinière Mills, 3c.), '''Christopher''' (m. Edmée Ritchie, 3c.) and '''Anne''' (m. Geoffrey Cooke, 3c.).

=== Gervas Huxley CMG MC (1894–1971) ===

[[Image:Gervas Huxley72.jpg|thumb|left|230px|Captain Gervas Huxley [[Military Cross|MC]], 1917]]

Eldest son of Henry Huxley, served in the [[British Army]] from 1914, became battalion bombing officer. Received the [[Military Cross]] on the first day of [[Battle of Passchendaele|Passchendaele]] for capturing prisoners whose presence showed the arrival of a fresh German Guards Division. Demobilised in 1919.

Gervas was recruited in 1939 to help set up the wartime [[Ministry of Information (United Kingdom)|Ministry of Information]]. After the war he sat on the Executive Committee of the [[British Council]], and became a successful author of biographies.<ref>Clark R.W. 1968. ''The Huxleys''. London. p338</ref><ref>Huxley, Gervas. 1970. ''Both hands: an autobiography''. Chatto & Windus, London.</ref> He died at [[Chippenham]] in 1971.<ref>[http://www.ancestry.co.uk Gervas Huxley's entry on Ancestry.co.uk]</ref>

Gervas's second marriage was to [[Elspeth Huxley|Elspeth Grant]] (1907–1997) in 1931; she had grown up in [[Kenya]] and was a friend of [[Joy Adamson]]. After the marriage she wrote ''White man's country: [[Lord Delamere]] and the [[History of Kenya|making of Kenya]]''. Her life and work are the subject of a 2002 biography.<ref>Nicholls C.S. 2002. ''Elspeth Huxley: a biography''. Harper Collins, London.</ref> As an author, Elspeth Huxley was well up to Huxley standards, and one of the few wives who was better-known than her husband. ''[[The Flame Trees of Thika (book)|The Flame Trees of Thika]]'' (1959) was perhaps the most celebrated of her thirty books; it was later adapted for television. They had one son, '''Charles''', b.1944.

== Mental Health Issues in the family ==

Biographers have sometimes noted the occurrence of mental illness in the Huxley family. T.H. Huxley's father became "sunk in worse than childish imbecility of mind",<ref>letter THH to eldest sister Lizzie 1853 Huxley Papers at Imperial College 31.21</ref> and later died in Barming Asylum; brother George suffered from "extreme mental anxiety" <ref>THH to Lizzie 1858 HP 31.24</ref> and died in 1863 leaving serious debts. Brother James was at 55 "as near mad as any sane man can be".<ref>THH to Lizzie HP 31.44</ref>

His favourite daughter, the artistically talented Mady (Marion), who became the first wife of artist [[John Collier (artist)|John Collier]], was troubled by mental illness for years. By her mid-twenties it was becoming clear that she was not sane, and was getting steadily worse (the diagnosis is uncertain). Huxley persuaded [[Jean-Martin Charcot]], one of [[Freud]]'s teachers, to examine her with a view to treatment; but soon Mady died of pneumonia.<ref>THH to JT 1887 HP 9.164</ref><ref>[[Adrian Desmond|Desmond A.]] 1997, ''Huxley: vol 2 Evolution's high priest''. London: Michael Joseph. p175-6</ref>

About THH himself we have a more complete record. As a young apprentice to a physician, he was taken to watch a post-mortem dissection. Afterwards he sank into a 'deep lethargy' and though he ascribed this to dissection poisoning, [[Cyril Bibby]] <ref>Bibby C. 1959. ''T.H. Huxley: scientist, humanist and educator''. London: Watts. p7</ref> and others are probably right to suspect that emotional shock precipitated a [[clinical depression]]. The next episode we know of in his life was on the third voyage of HMS ''Rattlesnake'' in 1848.<ref>Huxley J. 1935. ''T.H. Huxley's diary of the voyage of HMS Rattlesnake''. London: Chatto & Windus. Chapter 5 'Wanderings of a human soul'</ref> This voyage was mostly to [[New Guinea]] and the NE Australian coast, including the [[Great Barrier Reef]], which is a kind of wonderland for any zoologist, especially a young man hoping to make his career. The story is clear from the diary Huxley kept: p112 'little interest in the Barrier Reef'; p116 'two entries in seven weeks'; p117 '3 months passed and no journal' p124 'the black months of struggle and depression'.<ref>Huxley J. 1935. ''T.H. Huxley's diary of the voyage of HMS Rattlesnake''. London.</ref> For him to pass up such a golden opportunity speaks of his state of mind.

[[Image:Thomas Henry Huxley - Project Gutenberg eText 16935.jpg|thumb|T.H. Huxley]]

THH had periods of depression at the end of 1871, alleviated by a cruise to Egypt. And again in 1873, this time coincident with expensive building work on his house. His friends were really alarmed, and his doctor ordered three months rest. Darwin picked up his pen, and with Tyndall's help raised £2,100 for him — an enormous sum. The money was partly to pay for his recuperation, and partly to pay his bills. Huxley set out in July with Hooker to the [[Auvergne (province)|Auvergne]], and his wife and son Leonard joined him in [[Cologne]], while the younger children stayed at [[Down House]] in [[Emma Darwin]]'s care.<ref>Desmond A. 1997. ''Huxley: vol 2 Evolution's high priest''. London: Michael Joseph. p49</ref>

Finally, in 1884 THH sank into another depression, and this time it precipitated his decision to retire in 1885, at the age of only 60.<ref>Desmond A. 1997, ''Huxley: vol 2 Evolution's high priest''. London: Michael Joseph. p151 et seq</ref> He resigned the Presidency of the Royal Society in mid-term, the Inspectorship of Fisheries, and his chair as soon as he decently could, and took six months' leave. His pension was a fairly handsome £1500 a year.

This is enough to indicate the way depression (or perhaps a moderate [[bi-polar disorder]]) interfered with his life, but he was able to function well at other times.

The problems continued sporadically into the third generation. Two of Leonard's sons suffered serious depression: Trevenen committed suicide in 1914 and Julian suffered a number of breakdowns.<ref>Clark 1968.''The Huxleys''.</ref> Of course, there are many family members for whom no information one way or the other is available, but both the talent and the mental problems would have interested [[Francis Galton]]: "The direct result of this enquiry is... to prove that the laws of heredity are as applicable to the mental faculties as to the bodily faculties".<ref>Galton, Francis 1892. ''Hereditary genius''. London, xix</ref>

== Huxley Family Foundation ==

The Huxley Family Foundation was created by [[Laura Archera Huxley|Laura Archera]] in 2007 to continue the work of deceased Huxley Family members and associates, as well as to work in association with the [[Thomas Henry Huxley X Club]].<ref>Proceedings of the 4th Annual Aldous Huxley Symposium, Huntington Library, 2008</ref><ref>Laura Archera Huxley Memorial, Philasophical Research Society, Los Feliz, 2008</ref> Cofounders include Laura and Aldous Huxley's nephew [[Piero Ferrucci]] his two sons, Jonathan and Emilio, and [[Paul Fleiss]].<ref>Proceedings of the 4th Annual Aldous Huxley Symposium, Huntington Library, 2008</ref><ref>Laura Archera Huxley Memorial, Philasophical Research Society, Los Feliz, 2008</ref>

==See also==

* [[Darwin–Wedgwood family]]

* [[Intellectualism]]

* ''[[Evidence as to Man's Place in Nature]]''

== References ==

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[[Category:Huxley family| ]]

[[Category:Family trees]]

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