The Role of the Royal Society in the Battle over Mendelism

1:00 pm – 2:00 pm on Friday 05 October 2012
at The Royal Society, London

History of science lecture given by Professor Gregory Radick.

Event details:
Gregory Radick is Professor of History and Philosophy of Science at the University of Leeds.

The early years of the twentieth century saw one of the most ferocious controversies in the whole history of biology, over Gregor Mendel's experiments in pea hybridization and their significance for the scientific study of inheritance. On one side, the "Mendelians" were led by William Bateson FRS. On the other side, the opposed "biometricians" were led by W. F. R. Weldon FRS. Both men took inspiration from the work of Francis Galton FRS. In this talk I want to take seriously the 'FRSness' of these three famous scientists in order to throw light on the Mendelian-biometrician debate but also on the functioning of the Royal Society as a scientific institution at the turn of the century. I shall emphasise three organizational and ordering roles for the Society in particular, in relation to communications, committees and commendations.

Attending this event:
This event is free to attend and open to all. No tickets are required. Doors open at 12:30pm and seats will be allocated on a first-come-first-served basis.

Recorded audio will be available on this page a few days afterwards.