John Baker (biologist) facts for kids

John Randal Baker (born October 23, 1900 – died June 8, 1984) was a British biologist and zoologist. He was also a microscopist, someone who uses microscopes to study tiny things. He worked as a professor at the University of Oxford, where he was an expert in cytology, the study of cells. He earned his advanced degree (D.Phil.) from Oxford in 1927.

Early Life and Education

John Randal Baker was the youngest of five children. His father was Julian Alleyne Baker, a Rear Admiral. John grew up in a country home near Bromyard, England.

When he was ten, he went to Boxgrove School. During World War I, he left school early and joined the Bournemouth School of Flying at age sixteen. He earned a pilot's certificate, but his eyesight wasn't good enough for the Royal Flying Corps. So, he joined the Oxford University Officers' Training Corps instead.

After the war, Baker went to New College at the University of Oxford. There, he studied zoology, which is the study of animals. One of his teachers was Dr. Julian Huxley, a famous biologist. Other students in his department included Charles Elton and Alister Hardy.

Baker was also the captain of New College's rowing team. He finished his first degree in 1922 with top honors. His studies included looking at how spermatogenesis (sperm development) happens in crickets using a microscope.

Exciting Expeditions

After college, John Randal Baker went on several research trips to other countries.

First Visits to the New Hebrides

In 1922, he joined a trip to the New Hebrides Islands (now Vanuatu). This was his first of three visits there. He studied how the non-seasonal climate affected the breeding seasons of animals. He also became interested in the hermaphroditic pigs raised by the local people for special ceremonies.

In 1927, Baker returned to the New Hebrides for a year. This time, he focused on human population control. He and many others were concerned about how fast the human population was growing.

Oxford Expedition to the New Hebrides

In 1933, Baker organized and led the Oxford Expedition to the New Hebrides. This trip was supported by the Oxford University Exploration Club. The main goal was to see how the environment affected the breeding seasons of rainforest animals. They also collected animal samples and mapped the area.

His wife, Inezita, and his sister, Geraldine, joined him on this trip. They had worked with him on research before. Other team members included ornithologist Tom Harrisson and zoologist A. J. Marshall. One big achievement of the expedition was being the first to climb and map Mount Tabwemasana. This is the highest mountain in the New Hebrides. The map they made was even used by the U.S. Army during World War II.

Scientific Work and Views

John Randal Baker was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1958. This is a very high honor for scientists.

The Book Race

One of his most well-known books was called Race, published in 1974. In this book, Baker used older ways of thinking from physical anthropology to classify human groups.

His ideas in Race were different from what many other scientists believed at the time. He went back to older ideas about how traits are passed down through families and how cultures develop. The book received mixed reviews from other scientists.

In Race, Baker also defined "civilization" in a very specific way. He listed 23 things that he thought made a society a civilization. Based on his rules, he said that some ancient societies, like the Aztecs and Maya, were not civilizations. He also claimed that no native civilizations ever developed in Africa. He explored how he thought biological traits were connected to cultures.

Some of Baker's ideas in this book were controversial and have been widely criticized by other experts. For example, a review in 1974 said that Baker misunderstood the history of studying human groups. It also stated that much of his biological information came from the 1800s and was not supported by newer research.

Society for Freedom in Science

In 1940, Baker helped start the Society for Freedom in Science with Michael Polanyi. This group aimed to protect scientific freedom.

See also

• Carleton S. Coon