John Maddox

{{Short description|Welsh chemist, physicist, journalist and editor (1925–2009)}}

{{Infobox scientist

| image = John_Maddox_1988.png

| honorific_prefix = Sir

| name = John Maddox

| birth_name = John Royden Maddox

| caption = Maddox in 1988

| honorific_suffix = FRS

| birth_date = {{birth date|df=yes|1925|11|27}}

| birth_place = Penllergaer, Swansea, Wales, UK

| death_date = {{death date and age|df=yes|2009|4|12|1925|11|27}}

| death_place =

| awards = FRS (2000)

| alma_mater = {{Plainlist|

Christ Church, Oxford (BA)
King's College, London}}

| workplaces = {{Plainlist|

| academic_advisors = Charles Coulson

| known_for = {{Plainlist|

Journalism
Editing}}

| spouse = Brenda Maddox

| children = 6, including Bronwen Maddox and Bruno Maddox

}}

Sir John Royden Maddox, FRS (27 November 1925 – 12 April 2009){{Cite journal | last1 = Gratzer | first1 = W. | author-link = Walter Gratzer| doi = 10.1098/rsbm.2009.0024 | title = Sir John Royden Maddox. 27 November 1925 – 12 April 2009 | journal = Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society | volume = 56 | pages = 237–255 | year = 2010 | doi-access = free }}[http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/obituaries/article6087234.ece?token=null&offset=0&page=1 "Obituary: Sir John Maddox"]{{dead link|date=September 2024|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}, The Times, 13 April 2009. was a Welsh theoretical chemist, physicist, and science writer. He was an editor of Nature for 22 years,{{Cite journal | last1 = Gratzer | doi = 10.1038/nature06241 | title = Nature – the Maddox years | journal = Nature | year = 2007 }} from 1966 to 1973 and 1980 to 1995.{{Cite journal | last1 = Gratzer | first1 = W. | title = Obituary: John Maddox (1925–2009) | doi = 10.1038/458983a | journal = Nature | volume = 458 | issue = 7241 | pages = 983–984 | year = 2009 | pmid = 19396135| doi-access = free }}{{Cite journal | last1 = Maddox | first1 = J. | title = Valediction from an old hand | doi = 10.1038/378521a0 | journal = Nature | volume = 378 | issue = 6557 | pages = 521–523 | year = 1995 | pmid = 8524367|bibcode = 1995Natur.378..521M | s2cid = 2398422 }}{{Cite journal

| pmid = 19396137

| year = 2009

| last1 = Campbell

| first1 = P

| title = Maddox by his successor

| journal = Nature

| volume = 458

| issue = 7241

| pages = 985–6

| doi = 10.1038/458985a

| doi-access = free

}}{{Cite journal

| pmid = 19378388

| year = 2009

| last1 = Campbell

| first1 = Philip

| author-link1 = Philip Campbell (scientist)

| title = John Maddox 1925–2009

| journal = Nature

| volume = 458

| issue = 7240

| pages = 807

| doi = 10.1038/458807a

| doi-access = free

}}[http://www.edge.org/3rd_culture/maddox/maddox_p1.html John Maddox interview] (1997){{Cite journal

| title = "High-dilution" experiments a delusion | first3 = W.

| volume = 334

| issue = 6180

| journal = Nature

| pages = 287–291

| last3 = Stewart | first2 = J.

| year = 1988

| pmid = 2455869

| last1 = Maddox | first1 = J.

| last2 = Randi

| doi = 10.1038/334287a0

|bibcode = 1988Natur.334..287M | s2cid = 9579433

}}

Education and early life

John Royden Maddox was born on 27 November 1925, at Penllergaer near Swansea, Wales. He was the son of Arthur Jack Maddox, a furnaceman at an aluminium plant. He was educated at Gowerton Boys' County School. From there, aged 15, he won a state scholarship to Christ Church, Oxford, where he read chemistry, and King's College London, where he studied physics.

Career

From 1949 to 1955 Maddox lectured in theoretical physics at the University of Manchester.

He then became the science correspondent at The Manchester Guardian, a post he held until 1964.

From 1964 to 1966 he was the coordinator of the Nuffield Science Teaching Project; after which he was appointed editor of Nature, a role he held from 1966 to 1973 (and 1980 to 1995).

He was director of the Nuffield Foundation from 1975 to 1979.

From 1980 to 1995 he was again editor of Nature. In 1990, he publicly investigated homoeopathy claims.{{cite news|url=http://www.abc.net.au/catalyst/stories/s805448.htm|title=Homeopathy Part 1|publisher=ABC TV|access-date=21 October 2009}}

=Sheldrake editorial, 1981=

When the book A New Science of Life by British biologist Rupert Sheldrake was published in 1981, proposing the theory of morphic resonance instead of DNA as the basis for shapes and behaviour in nature, Maddox denounced it fiercely in an editorial titled "A book for burning?" in which he argued that Sheldrake's ideas were pseudoscience. Maddox concluded that the book should not be burned but placed "among the literature of intellectual aberrations".{{Cite journal|journal=Nature|volume=293|pages=245–246|date=24 September 1981|title=A book for burning?|doi=10.1038/293245b0|issue=5830|bibcode=1981Natur.293R.245.|url=http://www.project-reason.org/images/uploads/contest/Maddox1981.pdf|author=Maddox, John|s2cid=4330931|access-date=6 January 2014|archive-date=24 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924082319/http://www.project-reason.org/images/uploads/contest/Maddox1981.pdf|url-status=dead}} He elaborated in a 1994 BBC documentary on Sheldrake's theory:{{YouTube|QcWOz1xjtsY|John Maddox on Sheldrake and Book Burning}}

{{Blockquote|I was so offended by it, that I said that while it's wrong that books should be burned, in practice, if book burning were allowed, this book would be a candidate [...] I think it's dangerous that people should be allowed by our liberal societies to put that kind of nonsense into currency. It's unnecessary to introduce magic into the explanation of physical and biological phenomena when in fact there is every likelihood that the continuation of research as it is now practised will indeed fill all the gaps that Sheldrake draws attention to. You see, Sheldrake's is not a scientific theory. Sheldrake is putting forward magic instead of science, and that can be condemned, with exactly the language that the popes used to condemn Galileo, and for the same reasons: it is heresy.}}

=Stance on AIDS denial=

Maddox is remembered for his opposition to the notion that AIDS is not caused by the HIV virus.{{cite news |newspaper=Chicago Tribune |type=Obituary |title=Sir John Maddox: 1925-2009 |date=23 April 2009 |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-2009-04-23-0904221280-story.html |author=Thomas H. Maugh II}} As editor of Nature, in 1993 Maddox decided not to publish the words of Peter Duesberg, who had claimed AIDS was caused by drugs, because in Maddox's view the stakes were too high for such a prestigious journal to disseminate discredited views.{{cite book|editor=Raymond A. Smith|title=Volume 1: Politics and Government |work=Global HIV/AIDS Politics, Policy, and Activism: Persistent Challenges and Emerging Issues |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UdXYAQAAQBAJ&pg=RA2-PA164| publisher=Praeger|isbn=978-0-313-39946-6|page=164|year=2013|author1=Laith R. Abu-Radded |author2=Sema K. Sgaier |author3=Gina M. Mumtaz}}

=Stance on the Big Bang=

In the late 1980s, as evidence for the Big Bang origin of the Universe accumulated, Maddox, who favoured the Steady State theory, penned an editorial denouncing the theory as "philosophically unacceptable" (because he saw it giving a foothold to creationists) and "over-simplistic" and he predicted its demise within a decade (when results from the Hubble Space Telescope would become available).{{Cite journal | doi = 10.1038/340425a0| title = Down with the Big Bang| journal = Nature| volume = 340| issue = 6233| pages = 425| year = 1989| bibcode = 1989Natur.340..425M| last1 = Maddox| first1 = John| s2cid = 37785602| doi-access = free}}{{primary source inline|date=October 2020}}

=Publications=

Maddox authored and edited numerous publications{{Scopus|id=7101622752}} including:

Beyond the Energy Crisis{{Cite book|last=Maddox|first=John|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1635791|title=Beyond the energy crisis|date=1975|publisher=Hutchinson|isbn=978-0-09-124310-4|location=London|oclc=1635791}}
Revolution in Biology{{Cite book|last=Maddox|first=John Royden|title=Revolution in biology|publisher=Macmillan|year=1965|location=New York|asin=B0006AYQH2|oclc=462833454}}
The Doomsday Syndrome{{Cite book|last=Maddox|first=John|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/320054|title=The doomsday syndrome|date=1972|publisher=McGraw-Hill|isbn=978-0-07-039428-5|location=New York|oclc=320054}}
What Remains to Be Discovered: Mapping the Secrets of the Universe, the Origins of Life, and the Future of the Human Race.What remains to be discovered {{ISBN|0-684-82292-X}} (hardcover, 1998), {{ISBN|0-684-86300-6}} (paperback, 1999)

Honours and awards

In 1995 Maddox was knighted. In 2000 he was made an honorary Fellow of the Royal Society. His nomination read:{{cite web |url=https://collections.royalsociety.org/DServe.exe?dsqIni=Dserve.ini&dsqApp=Archive&dsqDb=Catalog&dsqCmd=show.tcl&dsqSearch=(RefNo==%27EC/2000/50%27) |title=EC/2000/50: Maddox, Sir John Royden |publisher=The Royal Society |archive-date=31 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220331000822/https://collections.royalsociety.org/DServe.exe?dsqIni=Dserve.ini&dsqApp=Archive&dsqDb=Catalog&dsqCmd=show.tcl&dsqSearch=(RefNo==%27EC/2000/50%27) |location=London |url-status=dead |access-date=13 September 2020 }}

{{Blockquote|Sir John Maddox is known throughout the world as an outstanding editor and contributor to Nature. His deep understanding of all branches of science is reflected in the lucid expositions of scientific research and discovery which appeared almost weekly in Nature. Under his leadership, Nature grew to become unique among the world's leading scientific publications, covering all fields and circulating internationally. He was Editor from 1966 to 1973, and from 1980 to 1996. Sir John was Director of the Nuffield Foundation Science Teaching Project 1964–66 and director, Nuffield Foundation 1975–1980. He is the author of five books, and many scientific contributions to newspapers and journals. He has also contributed regularly to broadcasting and television, and has a notable record of public service. He has made an outstanding contribution to science both in the UK and internationally and since his retirement from Nature has continued to contribute to science policy.}}

The John Maddox Prize is named in his honour. The prize is awarded to people{{cite web|url=https://wordpress-398250-1278369.cloudwaysapps.com/activities/maddox-prize-winners/|title=Maddox Prize Winners.}} who have stood up for science, despite facing difficulty and opposition.{{cite web|title=The John Maddox Prize|url=http://senseaboutscience.org/activities/the-john-maddox-prize/|website=Sense about Science|access-date=21 May 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170318015050/http://senseaboutscience.org/activities/the-john-maddox-prize/|archive-date=18 March 2017|url-status=live}} He was a Distinguished Supporter of the British Humanist Association, and a trustee of Sense about Science. In 1994 the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry (CSICOP) presented Maddox the Public Education in Science Award.{{cite journal|last1=Karr|first1=Barry|author-link=Barry Karr|title=Five Honored with CSICOP Awards|journal=Skeptical Inquirer|date=1994|volume=18|issue=5|pages=461–462}}

In April 2011, the executive council of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry (CSI, formerly CSICOP) selected Maddox for inclusion in CSI's Pantheon of Skeptics. The Pantheon of Skeptics was created by CSI to remember the legacy of deceased fellows of CSI and their contributions to the cause of scientific skepticism.{{cite web|title=The Pantheon of Skeptics|url=http://www.csicop.org/about/the_pantheon_of_skeptics|website=CSI|publisher=Committee for Skeptical Inquiry|access-date=30 April 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170131054129/http://www.csicop.org/about/the_pantheon_of_skeptics|archive-date=31 January 2017|url-status=live}}

Personal life

Maddox lived in London, and spent time at his cottage near Brecon in Wales, where he and his wife, Brenda Maddox, were involved in the local community. They had two children, Bronwen and Bruno Maddox. He had two previous children with Nancy Fanning King (Piers Maddox and Joanna Maddox), and two children with Lois Barton (Lois Wheatley and Adrian Maddox).{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2009/apr/15/sir-john-maddox-obituary|work=The Guardian|title=Sir John Maddox|date=15 April 2009|accessdate=17 February 2021|last=Dixon|first=Bernard}}{{citation needed|date=August 2014}}