Sir Joseph Burtt Hutchinson FRS (21 March 1902 – 16 January 1988) was a British biologist. He was Drapers Professor of Agriculture at the University of Cambridge from 1957-1969.

Biography

He was educated at

Bootham School Bootham School is an independent Quaker boarding school, on Bootham in the city of York in England. It accepts boys and girls ages 3–19, and had an enrolment of 605 pupils in 2016. It is one of seven Quaker schools in England. The school ...

, York and at

St John's College, Cambridge St John's College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge founded by the House of Tudor, Tudor matriarch Lady Margaret Beaufort. In constitutional terms, the college is a charitable corpo ...

. He was elected 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 science, natural knowledge, incl ...

in March 1951 and was awarded their

Royal Medal The Royal Medal, also known as The Queen's Medal and The King's Medal (depending on the gender of the monarch at the time of the award), is a silver-gilt medal, of which three are awarded each year by the Royal Society, two for "the most important ...

in 1967 "''In recognition of his distinguished work on the genetics and evolution of crop-plants with particular reference to cotton.''" His FRS candidature citation said that: ''"His contributions are outstanding among advances culminating in a notably improved and simplified classification of the genus Gossypium on a genetic basis and an admirably developed theory of the evolution of its species. His work is central in the very fine tradition of British workers which, by remarkable theoretical insight, combined with technical skill, has placed Cotton among the best studied of the world's cultivated crops. By his genetical work, coupled with exceptionally wide study of variability of field crops (especially Cotton), in the West Indies, India and Africa, the scientific foundations of the art of practical plant improvement have been substantially strengthened."'' He was knighted in 1956. He presided over the 1966

British Association The British Science Association (BSA) is a charity and learned society founded in 1831 to aid in the promotion and development of science. Until 2009 it was known as the British Association for the Advancement of Science (BA). The current Chie ...

meeting. He died on 16 January 1988.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hutchinson, Joseph 1902 births 1988 deaths People educated at Ackworth School British biologists Royal Medal winners Fellows of the Royal Society People educated at Bootham School Drapers Professors of Agriculture Knights Bachelor Presidents of the British Science Association Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge 20th-century biologists