author
Leonard Huxley
1860–1933
Best known as a gifted editor and biographer, he helped preserve the scientific and literary legacy of some of the most influential thinkers of his age. He also stands at the center of the remarkable Huxley family story, as the father of Julian and Aldous Huxley.
1 Audiobook
Thomas Henry Huxley: A Character Sketch
by Leonard Huxley
About the author
Born in London in 1860, Leonard Huxley was the son of the great scientist Thomas Henry Huxley. He was educated at University College School, the University of St Andrews, and Balliol College, Oxford, and worked as a schoolmaster before moving into writing and editing.
He became especially known for literary and biographical work. Among his major books were Life and Letters of Thomas Henry Huxley and Life and Letters of Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker, works that helped record the lives of leading scientific figures in clear, readable form. He also served as editor of the Cornhill Magazine, giving him an important place in British literary life.
His family connections became famous in their own right. His first marriage was to Julia Arnold, and their children included biologist Julian Huxley and novelist Aldous Huxley. After Julia's death, he married Rosalind Bruce, and their son Andrew Huxley would later become a Nobel Prize-winning scientist. Leonard Huxley died in 1933, remembered as a careful editor, biographer, and quiet force behind one of England's most extraordinary intellectual families.