Jack Harley facts for kids

John Laker Harley was a British scientist who studied plants. He was born on November 17, 1911, and passed away on December 12, 1990. He was well-known for his research on how fungi and plant roots work together. This special relationship is called a mycorrhiza.

Early Life and Education

John Laker Harley was born in a place called Old Charlton, near London, in 1911. His parents were Edith Sarah and Charles Laker Harley. His father worked for the Post Office.

John went to Leeds Grammar School. Later, he earned a special scholarship to study botany at Wadham College at the University of Oxford in 1930.

Discovering Mycorrhizas

At Oxford, he learned from famous scientists like A. G. Tansley. John became very interested in how plants live in their environment (called ecology) and how they work (called plant physiology).

He earned his D.Phil. degree (a high-level research degree). His main project was about mycorrhizas. These are special partnerships between fungi and plant roots. His supervisor was W. H. Wilkins.

War Service

In 1939, John started working as a demonstrator in botany. But his research was paused because of World War II. He joined the Royal Signals Corps, which is part of the army. He served in places like India, Burma, and Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) from 1940 to 1945. He became a high-ranking officer, a lieutenant-colonel.

Career and Research

After the war, John Harley returned to Oxford. In 1946, he became a fellow at Queen's College. In 1958, he moved to the agriculture department. There, he continued his important work on mycorrhizas.

In 1962, he became a Reader in plant nutrition. This meant he was a senior teacher and researcher. From 1965 to 1969, he was a professor of botany at Sheffield University.

Returning to Oxford

In 1966, John helped write a report about how Oxford's biology departments should be organized. Because of this, he returned to Oxford in 1969. He became the head of the forest science department. He helped combine the forestry and agriculture departments. He held this position until 1979.

Books and Later Work

Even after he retired, John Harley kept working. He wrote a book called Mycorrhizal Symbiosis in 1983 with his daughter, Sally E. Smith. He also wrote A Check-list of Mycorrhiza in the British Flora in 1987 with his wife.

Awards and Recognition

John Harley was a very respected scientist. He was a co-editor of the New Phytologist journal from 1961 to 1983.

He received many important awards:

• He was chosen as a fellow of the Royal Society in 1964. This is a very high honor for scientists in the UK.
• He received the CBE (Commander of the Order of the British Empire) in 1979.
• He was given the Linnean Society's Gold Medal for Botany in 1989.

He also led several important scientific groups:

• President of the British Mycological Society (1969)
• President of the British Ecological Society (1970–1972)
• President of the Institute of Biology (1984–1986)

Family Life

In 1938, John Harley married E. Lindsay Fitt. She was also a student at Oxford. They had a son and a daughter. John Harley passed away in 1990.

Selected Publications

• John Laker Harley, J. S. Waid (1955). "A method of studying active mycelia on living roots and other surfaces in the soil", Transactions of the British Mycological Society 38: 104–118