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At the Annual General Meeting in June, John Timson was elected President for a three year term. Here he introduces himself.
“I am a simple biologist. I had thought to be a chemist, or perhaps an historian, but at about the age of 14 I realised that living organisms are the most fascinating, complex, and unlikely objects on Earth and I was hooked. Between then and now the University of Leicester was kind enough to teach me some biology and award me a couple of degrees, I was elected a Fellow of the Linnean Society of London and of the Eugenics Society, the Institute of Biology accepted me as a member and I became a Chartered Biologist, and the American Society of Human Genetics elected me an Overseas Affiliate.
“I specialised in genetics and taught it, reasonably well I hope, to medical and science students, undergraduates and postgraduates, mostly at the University of Manchester. However, I have never been able to exclude an interest in other parts of the vast field of study that is biology, nor have I wanted to. So, although almost all my publications have been in human genetics, I have also written about plant hybrids, seed germination, variegated foliage, the history of biology, and even a little ecology.
“Perhaps it is this aspect of my character which made the Society, now the Institute, appeal to me. I like its interdisciplinary nature and through it I have met many interesting people outside my own field and heard papers which have broadened my outlook and enriched my life. I have served on Council and contributed to our publications for more years than I care to recall. I regard it as an honour to serve as President of the Galton Institute which, I suspect, is the natural habitat of a biologist who might, just might, have been an historian.”