Sir Alfred Daniel Hall, FRS, sometimes known as Sir Daniel Hall (22 June 1864 - 5 July 1942) was a British agricultural educationist and researcher who founded the

Wye College bio sciences -> social sciences -> business school Pictures of OLT, Old Hall,Cloister, Parlour --> The College of St Gregory and St Martin at Wye, commonly known as Wye College, was an education and research institution in the village of Wye ...

in Kent.

Life

Hall was born in Rochdale, Lancashire where his father Edwin Hall was a flannel manufacturer. As a young boy he interacted with a naturalist group where one member collected mosses while another collected fossils and in time he too began to collect fossils in Rochdale, accompanying the Borough Surveyor S.S. Platt. He attended a private school of Theodore B. Pickles and received a scholarship to

Manchester Grammar School The Manchester Grammar School (MGS) in Manchester, England, is the largest independent school (UK), independent day school for boys in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1515 as a Grammar school#free tuition, free grammar school next to Manchester C ...

in 1876. He studied science under Francis Jones and received a Brackenbury Scholarship at Balliol College, Oxford, joining in 1881. He received a first in natural science (chemistry) in 1884 and became a schoolmaster at Blairlodge School followed by teaching at

Hulme Grammar School Oldham Hulme Grammar School, formerly Hulme Grammar School, is a private grammar school in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England. History Oldham Grammar School was founded in 1611 by several charitable individuals including Laurence Chadeton, b ...

, Manchester and in 1888, Senior Science Master at

King Edward's School, Birmingham King Edward's School (KES) is an independent day school for boys in the British public school tradition, located in Edgbaston, Birmingham. Founded by King Edward VI in 1552, it is part of the Foundation of the Schools of King Edward VI in Bir ...

. He married Mary Brooks, sister of a friend, while teaching at Birmingham. In 1891 he joined the University Extension Board and he sought to establish an agriculture college for which he selected Wye and through E.J. Halsey, the chairman of the County Council, space and resources were allocated for the establishment of the

. The founding staff included H.H. Cousins, chemist,

John Percival John Percival (3 April 1779 – 7 September 1862), known as Mad Jack Percival, was a celebrated officer in the United States Navy during the Quasi-War with France, the War of 1812, the campaign against West Indies pirates, and the Mexican–Amer ...

, botanist, F.B. Smith, agriculturist, and F.V. Theobald, entomologist. Hall handled the teaching of chemistry. The college was formally opened in 1894 and had fourteen students. In 1902 he was persuaded to leave Wye and help rejuvenate research at the Rothamsted Laboratory. In 1912 he left Rothamsted to work with the Development Commission. In 1919 he became a director of the

John Innes Horticultural Institution The John Innes Centre (JIC), located in Norwich, Norfolk, England, is an independent centre for research and training in plant and microbial science founded in 1910. It is a registered charity (No 223852) grant-aided by the Biotechnology and B ...

and was also a part-time advisor for the Ministry of Agriculture. He was elected as a

Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the judges of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural knowledge, including mathemat ...

in 1909 and made KCB in 1918.

References

Bibliography

External links

Royal Society certificate of election

Biographical Database of the British Chemical Community, 1880-1970: Sir Alfred Daniel Hall
British botanists 1864 births 1942 deaths People from Rochdale Fellows of the Royal Society Veitch Memorial Medal recipients People educated at Manchester Grammar School English schoolteachers Alumni of Balliol College, Oxford Academics of the University of London Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath {{UK-scientist-stub