VERSATILE HUXLEY
WE gave our readers, in a recent issue, a character sketch of Leon Blum, the permanent president of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO). Now we give two profiles of another man of importance. in international education, Professor Julian Huxley, who has been appointed the first Director-General of UNESCO. These commentaries on thé man and his achievements, which were by Kenneth Dick, special BBC correspond-
ent in Paris, and J. D. Crowther, scientific correspondent of the "Manchester Guardian," were heard from 2YA in a re-broadcast of the BBC Radio Newsreel the other evening-just after the announcement of Huxley’s appointment.
_*°F T was no secret," said Kenneth Dick, "that the preliminary discussions centred mainly on two personalities-Dr. Huxley and Mr. Justice Biddle, former United States AttorneyGeneral. The constitution of UNESCO says that the director-general shall be appointed for six years, but Dr. Huxley had told the executive board that he could not accept the post for more than two years, and it is for two years that he has been appointed. "Of the suitability of the appointment," he went on, "there can be no doubt. He is a man of extraordinary versatility; a man whose interests range easily over the fields of science, of literature, social affairs, religion, and the arts. His family background was partly responsible for this. He is the grandson of Thomas Henry Huxley, who, with Darwin, led 19th Century biological thought; a great-grandson of Thomas Arnold, of Rugby, and a grand-nephew of Matthew Arnold. He grew up in an atmosphere in which scientific and literary work were part of everyday life." Expert on Many Things Mr. Crowther said, enlarging on Huxley’s versatility, that those who are not scientists find Huxley interested in and informed on nearly every question of general importance. If you are interested in art, then you find he is a friend of a leading British sculptor. If social questions appeal to you, you will know that he has written a book on TVA. If you are religious you will hear his views on science and religion. If you are a student of literature you will know that he won the Newdigate prize for poetry at Oxford, and that his brother, Aldous Huxley, is one of the greatest of living writers. However, the greatest of Huxley’s gifts is his scientific reputation. This was established by. researches into the laws of growth of living organisms, and experimental work on the heredity and ‘metamorphoses of animals, by observation of the habits of birds and studies in the theory of evolution. In the early period of his scientific career, he was professor of zoology at the Rice Institute, Houston, Texas. . Huxley is a man of many achievements, and his books and studies are his ordinary accomplishments. "T remember being with him once in a party of 30 people on a sea voyage,"
said Mr. Crowther. "We played that old parlour game of taking a word and then making up as many words as one could from its individual letters. Huxley won the game several times. Then he took the rest of us on as a team-Huxley against the collective efforts of the remaining 29. He won. And then he mentioned shyly that he had once played the game in Paris, in French, and beaten a member of the French Academy. "His wide scientific knowledge, extraordinary quickness of mind and strength of memory about all kinds of simple human things, combined with his literary accomplishments, and social grace and feeling, make him a fine exponent of science as one of the humanities. In ‘these days when science has so much meaning for the future of man, it is well that men such as Julian Huxley should be available to help to place science and knowledge at the service of the people." ne
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New Zealand Listener, Volume 16, Issue 391, 20 December 1946, Page 12
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638VERSATILE HUXLEY New Zealand Listener, Volume 16, Issue 391, 20 December 1946, Page 12
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