Thomas Huxley

Born: May 4, 1825; Ealing, United Kingdom
Died: June 29, 1919; Eastbourne, United Kingdom
Fields of study: Anatomy, paleontology, evolution, comparative anatomy, zoology
Until Huxley, a British biologist, embarked on his landmark studies in paleontology, evolution, and comparative anatomy, comparative studies were pursued primarily through the deductive method. Huxley changed this practice by observing as carefully and objectively as he could and permitting his conclusions to proceed from his data. The inductive method, with his help, has become the prevailing method of scientific research. Also, he adopted ideas of Charles Darwin and proposed to separate the natural sciences from the natural theology.