Sir Wilfrid Edward Le Gros Clark (5 June 1895 – 28 June 1971) was a British

anatomist Anatomy () is the branch of biology concerned with the study of the structure of organisms and their parts. Anatomy is a branch of natural science that deals with the structural organization of living things. It is an old science, having its ...

, surgeon, primatologist and

palaeoanthropologist Paleoanthropology or paleo-anthropology is a branch of paleontology and anthropology which seeks to understand the early development of anatomically modern humans, a process known as hominization, through the reconstruction of evolutionary kinsh ...

, today best remembered for his contribution to the study of

human evolution Human evolution is the evolutionary process within the history of primates that led to the emergence of ''Homo sapiens'' as a distinct species of the hominid family, which includes the great apes. This process involved the gradual development of ...

. He was Dr Lee's Professor of Anatomy at the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

Education

Le Gros Clark was educated at

Blundell's School Blundell's School is a co-educational day and boarding independent school in the English public school tradition, located in Tiverton, Devon. It was founded in 1604 under the will of Peter Blundell, one of the richest men in England at the tim ...

and subsequently admitted as a medical student to

St Thomas' Hospital St Thomas' Hospital is a large NHS teaching hospital in Central London, England. It is one of the institutions that compose the King's Health Partners, an academic health science centre. Administratively part of the Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foun ...

Medical School in

Lambeth Lambeth () is a district in South London, England, in the London Borough of Lambeth, historically in the County of Surrey. It is situated south of Charing Cross. The population of the London Borough of Lambeth was 303,086 in 2011. The area expe ...

Career

After qualification he immediately joined the

Royal Army Medical Corps The Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC) is a specialist corps in the British Army which provides medical services to all Army personnel and their families, in war and in peace. The RAMC, the Royal Army Veterinary Corps, the Royal Army Dental Corps a ...

as a medical officer and was sent to France early in 1918. He caught

diphtheria Diphtheria is an infection caused by the bacterium '' Corynebacterium diphtheriae''. Most infections are asymptomatic or have a mild clinical course, but in some outbreaks more than 10% of those diagnosed with the disease may die. Signs and s ...

and was sent back to England to recover, following which he spent the remainder of the war as a medical officer at '‘No. 8 Stationary Hospital'’ at

Wimereux Wimereux (; vls, Wimeruwe) is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region of France. Geography Wimereux is a coastal town situated some north of Boulogne, at the junction of the D233 and the D940 roads, on the ban ...

in northern France. Le Gros Clarks CNS demonstration slides box

Following a period in the Department of Anatomy at

Medical School he was appointed as Principal Medical Officer to the

Sarawak Sarawak (; ) is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia. The largest among the 13 states, with an area almost equal to that of Peninsular Malaysia, Sarawak is located in northwest Borneo Island, and is bordered by the M ...

Government. He was subsequently appointed as Professor of Anatomy at

St Bartholomew's Hospital St Bartholomew's Hospital, commonly known as Barts, is a teaching hospital located in the City of London. It was founded in 1123 and is currently run by Barts Health NHS Trust. History Early history Barts was founded in 1123 by Rahere (died ...

Medical School, followed by a period as Professor of Anatomy at

Medical School and finally, in 1934, he was invited to take over as the Dr. Lee's Professor of Anatomy (and effectively the Chair of the Anatomy Department) at the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

. The following year 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 ...

. Le Gros Clark was also editor of the

Journal of Anatomy The ''Journal of Anatomy'' is a monthly peer-reviewed scientific journal published by Wiley on behalf of the Anatomical Society. It covers all aspects of anatomy and morphology. The journal was first published in 1867 and was originally known as t ...

between 1938 and 1945. In 1953, Le Gros Clark was one of three men (the others being Joseph Weiner and

Kenneth Oakley Kenneth Page Oakley (7 April 1911 – 2 November 1981) was an English Physical anthropology, physical anthropologist, palaeontologist and geologist. Oakley, known for his work in the Fluorine absorption dating of fossils by fluorine content, ...

) who proved that the

Piltdown Man The Piltdown Man was a paleoanthropological fraud in which bone fragments were presented as the fossilised remains of a previously unknown early human. Although there were doubts about its authenticity virtually from the beginning, the remains ...

was a forgery. In 1960, Le Gros Clark was elected to the

American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS), founded in 1743 in Philadelphia, is a scholarly organization that promotes knowledge in the sciences and humanities through research, professional meetings, publications, library resources, and communit ...

. He was awarded the Royal Society's

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 1961 and delivered their

Ferrier Lecture The Ferrier Lecture is a Royal Society lectureship given every three years "on a subject related to the advancement of natural knowledge on the structure and function of the nervous system". It was created in 1928 to honour the memory of Sir David ...

in 1956. He was elected President of the

Anatomical Society of Great Britain and Ireland The Anatomical Society (AS), previously known as the Anatomical Society of Great Britain and Ireland or ASGBI was founded in London in 1887 to "promote, develop and advance research and education in all aspects of anatomical science". The society o ...

for 1951 to 1953. Papers relating to Le Gros Clark, his grandfather the surgeon Frederick Le Gros Clark and his brother Cyril Le Gros Clark (former Chief Secretary of

, who was murdered by the Japanese in 1945 after a period of detention at

Batu Lintang camp Batu Lintang camp (also known as Lintang Barracks and Kuching POW camp) at Kuching, Sarawak on the island of Borneo was a Japanese internment camp during the Second World War. It was unusual in that it housed both Allied prisoners of war (POWs) ...

in Borneo) are held at the

Bodleian Library The Bodleian Library () is the main research library of the University of Oxford, and is one of the oldest libraries in Europe. It derives its name from its founder, Sir Thomas Bodley. With over 13 million printed items, it is the second- ...

(Special Collections and Western Manuscripts) at Oxford University. During his career Le Gros Clark published numerous papers on human evolution and palaeontology, and an autobiography.Chant of Pleasant Exploration (1968)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Le Gros Clark, Wilfrid 1895 births 1971 deaths People educated at Blundell's School British surgeons Fellows of the Royal College of Surgeons British paleoanthropologists Human evolution theorists Fellows of the Royal Society Foreign associates of the National Academy of Sciences Royal Medal winners 20th-century British writers Dr Lee's Professors of Anatomy 20th-century surgeons British Army personnel of World War I Royal Army Medical Corps officers Journal of Anatomy editors Members of the American Philosophical Society