This online exhibit describes the period of Sir Julian Sorell Huxley's life spent at Rice Institute from 1912-1916. The exhibit was created by Rice University undergraduate, Kendall Lyman, Class of 2026 as part of a Fondren Fellows project during the 2023-2024 academic year. The Fondren Fellows program funds Rice undergraduate or graduate students to conduct research or teaching projects sponsored by Fondren Library that involve skills, collections, spaces, or services related to libraries and archives.

Julian Huxley, grandson of Thomas Henry Huxley and brother of Aldous Huxley, was a prominent 20th-century evolutionary biologist and science communicator. He is perhaps best known for coining the term “Modern Synthesis,” which describes the approach that combines the Darwinian theory of natural selection with Mendelian inheritance. He was also a co-author of one of the popular biological textbooks of the early twentieth century, The Science of Life, along with H.G. Wells and Wells’ son, G.P. Wells.

Some of his notable positions include:

• First Director of UNESCO (1946–1948)
• President of British Eugenics Society (1959–1962)
• Founding Member of the World Wildlife Fund (1961)
• President of the British Humanist Association (1958–1965)

However, before becoming such a well-known figure, Julian Huxley got his start as the head of the biology department at the Rice Institute.

To learn more about Huxley's time at Rice, select one of the options below.