Our History - Key John Innes Scientists

• William Bateson FRS (1861-1926), geneticist
• Sir Rowland Biffen FRS (1874–1949), geneticist and agricultural botanist
• Joseph Chatt CBE FRS (1914-1994), research chemist
• Cyril D Darlington FRS (1903-1981), biologist, geneticist and eugenicist
• John B S Haldane FRS (1892–1964), geneticist and evolutionary botanist
• Sir David Hopwood FRS (b.1933), geneticist
• Chris Lamb CBE FRS (1950-2009), plant biologist
• Harold W Woolhouse (1932-1996), botanist and plant physiologist

William Bateson FRS (1861-1926), geneticist

William Bateson became the first Director of the John Innes in 1910. Bateson pioneered in Britain the science of genetics and coined the word "genetics". He was very much involved in the controversy that followed the rediscovery of Mendel's papers on plant hybridisation. More »

Sir Rowland Biffen FRS (1874–1949), geneticist and agricultural botanist

Rowland Biffen was Director of the Plant Breeding Institute in Cambridge from its foundation in 1912, until his retirement in 1936. He was a member of the JI Council and was offered the Directorship of the John Innes Horticultural Insititution in 1926. He expressed his willingness to consider the invitation to take up the Directorship in April of that year, but withdrew his candidature in June. More »

Joseph Chatt CBE FRS (1914-1994), research chemist

Professor Joseph Chatt CBE was Director of the Unit of Nitrogen Fixation between 1963 and 1980. The Unit became an outstation of the John Innes Centre and the staff relocated to a new building in Norwich in 1995. In Norwich his outstanding contributions were recognised by naming the new building to house the Unit after him. Today, it houses two newly formed departments within the John Innes Centre; Biological Chemistry and Molecular Microbiology. More »

Cyril Darlington FRS (1903-1981), biologist, geneticist and eugenicist

Cyril Dean Darlington Director of the John Innes, 1939-1953, was devoted to the study of chromosomes, the gene, evolution and man, and contributed immensely to our knowledge of chromosomes, the centromere and meiosis. He was the founder of the journal Heredity in 1947, and published prolifically stating that "research unpublished was research not done". More »

JBS Haldane FRS (1892–1964), geneticist and mathematical biologist

John Burdon Sanderson Haldane, an eminent and co-founder of the 'synthetic theory of evolution', was employed by the John Innes Trustees, under the Directorship of Sir Daniel Hall, for ten years (1927-37) on a part-time basis whilst at the University of Cambridge. More »

Sir David Hopwood FRS, geneticist

Professor Sir David Hopwood, FRS has been at the John Innes since 1968. After graduating from Cambridge he did his PhD there and later became an Assistant Lecturer, spending two sabbatical periods in Italy before becoming a Lecturer in Genetics at Glasgow University in 1961, where he stayed until he took up the appointment as John Innes Professor of Genetics at the University of East Anglia and Head of Genetics at John Innes. More »

Chris Lamb CBE FRS (1950-2009), plant biologist

Professor Christopher John Lamb was appointed Director of the John Innes Centre in 1999. During his tenure he attracted and retained talent from all over the world, developing the Centre into one of the world’s flagship plant and microbial research centres. More »

Harold W Woolhouse (1932-1996), botanist and plant physiologist

Harold W Woolhouse was Director of the John Innes Centre between 1980 and 1989 and was instrumental in the development of the John Innes Centre in a number of ways. During his time as Director, the John Innes grew from just over 200 staff to over 800, incorporating the Sainsbury Laboratory, the Cambridge Laboratory and the Nitrogen Fixation Laboratory. More »