Wilfrid Le Gros Clark
Encyclopedia
Sir Wilfrid Edward Le Gros Clark (1895–1971) was a British anatomist surgeon
, primatologist and palaeoanthropologist, today best remembered for his contribution to the study of human evolution
.
Le Gros Clark was educated at Blundell's School
and subsequently admitted as a medical student to St Thomas' Hospital
Medical School in Lambeth
. After qualification he immediately joined the Royal Army Medical Corps
as a medical officer and was sent to France early in 1918. He caught diphtheria
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
in northern France.
Following a period in the Department of Anatomy at St Thomas' Hospital
Medical School he was appointed as Principal Medical Officer to the Sarawak
Government. He was subsequently appointed as Professor of Anatomy at St Bartholomew's Hospital
Medical School, followed by a period as Professor of Anatomy at St Thomas' Hospital
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 Oxford University.
In 1953, Le Gros Clark was one of three men (the others being Joseph Weiner and Kenneth Oakley
) who proved that the Piltdown Man
was a forgery.
Papers relating to Le Gros Clark, his grandfather Dr. Frederick Le Gros Clark and his brother Cyril Le Gros Clark (former Chief Secretary of Sarawak, who was killed in 1945 after a period of detention at Batu Lintang camp
in Borneo) are held at the Bodleian Library
(Special Collections and Western Manuscripts) at Oxford University.
Surgeon
In medicine, a surgeon is a specialist in surgery. Surgery is a broad category of invasive medical treatment that involves the cutting of a body, whether human or animal, for a specific reason such as the removal of diseased tissue or to repair a tear or breakage...
, primatologist and palaeoanthropologist, today best remembered for his contribution to the study of human evolution
Human evolution
Human evolution refers to the evolutionary history of the genus Homo, including the emergence of Homo sapiens as a distinct species and as a unique category of hominids and mammals...
.
Le Gros Clark was educated at Blundell's School
Blundell's School
Blundell's School is a co-educational day and boarding independent school located in the town of Tiverton in the county of Devon, England. The school was founded in 1604 by the will of Peter Blundell, one of the richest men in England at the time, and relocated to its present location on the...
and subsequently admitted as a medical student to St Thomas' Hospital
St Thomas' Hospital
St Thomas' Hospital is a large NHS hospital in London, England. It is administratively a part of Guy's & St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust. It has provided health care freely or under charitable auspices since the 12th century and was originally located in Southwark.St Thomas' Hospital is accessible...
Medical School in Lambeth
Lambeth
Lambeth is a district of south London, England, and part of the London Borough of Lambeth. It is situated southeast of Charing Cross.-Toponymy:...
. After qualification he immediately joined the Royal Army Medical Corps
Royal Army Medical Corps
The Royal Army Medical Corps is a specialist corps in the British Army which provides medical services to all British Army personnel and their families in war and in peace...
as a medical officer and was sent to France early in 1918. He caught diphtheria
Diphtheria
Diphtheria is an upper respiratory tract illness caused by Corynebacterium diphtheriae, a facultative anaerobic, Gram-positive bacterium. It is characterized by sore throat, low fever, and an adherent membrane on the tonsils, pharynx, and/or nasal cavity...
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
Wimereux is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais 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 banks of the river Wimereux. The river Slack forms the northern boundary of...
in northern France.
Following a period in the Department of Anatomy at St Thomas' Hospital
St Thomas' Hospital
St Thomas' Hospital is a large NHS hospital in London, England. It is administratively a part of Guy's & St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust. It has provided health care freely or under charitable auspices since the 12th century and was originally located in Southwark.St Thomas' Hospital is accessible...
Medical School he was appointed as Principal Medical Officer to the Sarawak
Sarawak
Sarawak is one of two Malaysian states on the island of Borneo. Known as Bumi Kenyalang , Sarawak is situated on the north-west of the island. It is the largest state in Malaysia followed by Sabah, the second largest state located to the North- East.The administrative capital is Kuching, which...
Government. He was subsequently appointed as Professor of Anatomy at St Bartholomew's Hospital
St Bartholomew's Hospital
St Bartholomew's Hospital, also known as Barts, is a hospital in Smithfield in the City of London, England.-Early history:It was founded in 1123 by Raherus or Rahere , a favourite courtier of King Henry I...
Medical School, followed by a period as Professor of Anatomy at St Thomas' Hospital
St Thomas' Hospital
St Thomas' Hospital is a large NHS hospital in London, England. It is administratively a part of Guy's & St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust. It has provided health care freely or under charitable auspices since the 12th century and was originally located in Southwark.St Thomas' Hospital is accessible...
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 Oxford University.
In 1953, Le Gros Clark was one of three men (the others being Joseph Weiner and Kenneth Oakley
Kenneth Oakley
Kenneth Page Oakley was an English physical anthropologist, palaeontologist and geologist.Oakley, known for his work in the relative dating of fossils by fluorine content, was instrumental in the exposure in the 1950s of the Piltdown Man hoax.Oakley was born and died in Amersham,...
) who proved that the Piltdown Man
Piltdown Man
The Piltdown Man was a hoax in which bone fragments were presented as the fossilised remains of a previously unknown early human. These fragments consisted of parts of a skull and jawbone, said to have been collected in 1912 from a gravel pit at Piltdown, East Sussex, England...
was a forgery.
Papers relating to Le Gros Clark, his grandfather Dr. Frederick Le Gros Clark and his brother Cyril Le Gros Clark (former Chief Secretary of Sarawak, who was killed in 1945 after a period of detention at Batu Lintang camp
Batu Lintang camp
Batu Lintang 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 and civilian internees...
in Borneo) are held at the Bodleian Library
Bodleian Library
The Bodleian Library , the main research library of the University of Oxford, is one of the oldest libraries in Europe, and in Britain is second in size only to the British Library...
(Special Collections and Western Manuscripts) at Oxford University.
Publications
- Le Gros Clark, W. E. (1920). On series of ancient Eskimo Skulls from Greenland. J. R. Anth. Inst. 50: 281–298.
- Le Gros Clark, W. E. (1928). Rhodesian man. Man 28: 206–207.
- Le Gros Clark, W. E. (1935). Man’s place among the primates. Man 35: 1–6.
- Le Gros Clark, W. E. (1936). Evolutionary parallelism and human phylogeny. Man 36: 4–8.
- Le Gros Clark, W. E. (1940a). Palaeontological evidence bearing on human evolution. Biol. Rev. 15: 202–230le.
- Le Gros Clark, W. E. (1940b). The relationship between pithecanthropus and sinanthropus. Nature 145: 70–71.
- Le Gros Clark, W. E. (1946). Significance of the Australopithecinae. Nature 157: 863–865.
- Le Gros Clark, W. E. (1949). History of the primates. British Museum (Natural History), London.
- Le Gros Clark, W. E. (1955). The fossil evidence for human evolution: An introduction to the study of paleoanthropology. The Scientist’s Library: Biology and Medicine. University of Chicago Press, Chicago.
- Le Gros Clark, W. E. (1964). The fossil evidence for human evolution: An introduction to the study of paleoanthropology, 2nd ed. The Scientist’s Library: Biology and Medicine. University of Chicago Press, Chicago.
- Le Gros Clark, W. E. (1967). Man-Apes or Ape-Men? The Story of Discoveries in Africa. Holt, Rinehart and Winston, New York.
- Le Gros Clark, W. E. (1968). Chant of pleasant exploration. E. and S. Livingstone, Edinburgh.
- Le Gros Clark, W. E., Cooper, D. M. and Zuckerman, S. (1936). The endocranial cast of the chimpanzee. J. Roy. Anthropol. Inst. 66: 249–268.