Michael Pease facts for kids

Michael Stewart Pease (October 2, 1890 – July 27, 1966) was a British scientist who studied genetics at Cambridge University. Genetics is the study of how traits are passed down from parents to their children.

Early Life and Family

Michael Pease was the son of Edward Reynolds Pease. His father was a writer and helped start a group called the Fabian Society, which worked for social change. The Pease family were also Quakers, a religious group known for their peaceful beliefs.

Michael went to Bedales School and then Trinity College, Cambridge. While at Cambridge, he led the university's Fabian Society group.

Marriage and Children

In 1920, Michael Pease married Helen Bowen Wedgwood. Her father, Josiah Wedgwood IV, was a politician from the famous Wedgwood pottery family. Michael and Helen had two children. Their son, Bas Pease, became a physicist. Their daughter, Jocelyn Richenda Gammell Pease, married Andrew Huxley, who later won a Nobel Prize for his work in biology.

Scientific Work and Public Service

Michael Pease worked at the Genetical Institute in Cambridge. He was an assistant to Reginald Crundall Punnett, another important geneticist. Punnett created the first "auto-sexing" chicken breeds, like the Cambar and Legbar. This meant that when chicks hatched, you could easily tell if they were male or female just by looking at their feathers.

In 1930, a special research center for poultry (chickens and other birds) was opened, and Michael Pease became its head.

Community Involvement

Besides his scientific work, Michael Pease was also involved in his local community. He served as a councillor for Girton, Cambridgeshire on the Cambridge County Council. This meant he helped make decisions for the local area. In 1966, he was given an award called the Order of the British Empire for his public service in Cambridgeshire.

Experience During World War I

During the First World War, Michael Pease was held in a civilian internment camp called Ruhleben. This camp was near Berlin, Germany. He was a civilian, meaning he wasn't a soldier.

His father tried to arrange for Michael to be exchanged for a German prisoner, but it didn't happen. While he was at the camp, Michael tried to get gardens started for the prisoners. He even gave a lecture about dancing in Elizabethan times, showing his interest in different topics even in difficult circumstances.