. > ...
the history of Leyton and Leytonstone
from . dot to … dots – with plenty of spaces
the later Victorian and Edwardian times 1890 to 1919
Famous people who came from our area
Leytonstone
Every area must have its sons and daughters who have gained fame. Leytonstone between 1890 and the end the First World War was the birthplace of a number.
Eric Ashby was born in 1904 at 12 Fairlop Road (photo above left), the son of a commercial clerk. He became a botanist, developing research with results that could be analysed statistically. In 1938 he became Professor of Botany at the University of Sydney, advising the Australian government on using science in the Second World War, and after that in strengthening higher education. Between 1944 and 1945 he was Scientific Counsellor to Moscow 1. He moved to Manchester University, and in 1950 was appointed Vice-Chancellor of Belfast University. From 1958 he was Master of Clare College, Cambridge (photo above right). He was Vice-Chancellor of Cambridge University 1967-69, a time of student unrest around the world. He died in 1992, having been knighted in 1956 and later made Baron Ashby 1. His life was therefore spent in developing what we now call ‘the knowledge economy’ and he took an interest in the scientific capability of the Soviet Union just ahead of the Cold War.
>>
He published a number of books on these subjects including university students’ assertiveness.
