Article ID: CBB414991374

James Cossar Ewart and the Origins of the Animal Breeding Research Department in Edinburgh, 1895–1920 (2018)

unapi

In 1919 the Animal Breeding Research Department was established in Edinburgh. This Department, later renamed the Institute of Animal Genetics, forged an international reputation, eventually becoming the centrepiece of a cluster of new genetics research units and institutions in Edinburgh after the Second World War. Yet despite its significance for institutionalising animal genetics research in the UK, the origins and development of the Department have not received as much scholarly attention as its importance warrants. This paper sheds new light on Edinburgh’s place in early British genetics by drawing upon recently catalogued archival sources including the papers of James Cossar Ewart, Regius Professor of Natural History at the University of Edinburgh between 1882 and 1927. Although presently a marginal figure in genetics historiography, Ewart established two sites for experimental animal breeding work between 1895 and 1911 and played a central role in the founding of Britain’s first genetics lectureship, also in 1911. These early efforts helped to secure government funding in 1913. However, a combination of the First World War, bureaucratic problems and Ewart’s personal ambitions delayed the creation of the Department and the appointment of its director by another six years. This paper charts the institutionalisation of animal breeding and genetics research in Edinburgh within the wider contexts of British genetics and agriculture in the early twentieth century.

...More
Citation URI
https://data.isiscb.org/isis/citation/CBB414991374/

Similar Citations

Article Ayres, P. G.; (2015)
Isaac Bayley Balfour, Sphagnum Moss, and the Great War (1914--1918) (/isis/citation/CBB001422130/)

Article Garland E. Allen; (2017)
Mendelism and the Promise of A New Agriculture, 1900-1945 (/isis/citation/CBB500275953/)

Article Marelene Rayner-Canham; Geoff Rayner-Canham; (2020)
Edith Pechey and Professor Crum Brown: A Key Part of the Edinburgh Seven Saga (/isis/citation/CBB471950434/)

Article Henry, John; (2007)
Physics in Edinburgh: From Napier's Bones to Higgs's Boson (/isis/citation/CBB000850204/)

Article Kolchinsky, Eduard I.; (2014)
Nikolai Vavilov in the years of Stalin's “Revolution from Above” (1929–1932) (/isis/citation/CBB001202379/)

Chapter Krementsov, Nikolai; (2010)
Darwinism, Marxism, and Genetics in the Soviet Union (/isis/citation/CBB001020304/)

Authors & Contributors
Henry, John
Allen, Garland E.
Wendy McGlashan
Rayner-Canham, Geoff
Rayner-Canham, Marelene
Jenkins, Bill
Concepts
Agriculture
Genetics
Science education and teaching
Breeding
Medical education and teaching
Discipline formation
Time Periods
20th century, early
19th century
18th century
Enlightenment
20th century, late
Places
Edinburgh
Scotland
Glasgow (Scotland)
Leipzig (Germany)
United States
Netherlands
Institutions
University of Edinburgh
Edinburgh Physiological Society
University of St. Andrews
University of Glasgow
Comments

Be the first to comment!

{{ comment.created_by.username }} on {{ comment.created_on | date:'medium' }}

Log in or register to comment