Thomas Henry HuxleyThomas Henry Huxley (May 4, 1825 – June 29, 1895) was an English scientist and anthropologist who specialized in comparative anatomy. He became known as "Darwin's Bulldog" because of his support for Charles Darwin's theory of evolution. Although somehistorians believe that the surviving tale of Huxley's famous 1860 Oxford evolution discussion with Samuel Wilberforce is a later invention, it was a pivotal occasion in the wider acceptance of evolution and in his own career. Huxley had planned to leave Oxford the day before, but after meeting Robert Chambers, the author of Vestiges, he changed his mind and chose to participate in the debate. Richard Owen, with whom Huxley also discussed whether humans were closely connected to apes, coached Wilberforce. Huxley was slow to adopt certain of Darwin's concepts, including as gradualism, and was undecided about natural selection, but he was a staunch supporter of Darwin in public. He was instrumental in promoting scientific education in Britain, and he fought against more radical religious traditions. Huxley invented the term "agnosticism" in 1869 and expanded on it in 1889 to define the nature of claims in terms of what is and is not knowable. Read More Read Less
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