Science at Oxford, 1914-1939

In 1914 the international reputation of Oxford University as a centre of learning and research was largely confined to arts subjects, and particularly classics; in contrast with Cambridge, science at Oxford was marginal. However, between the wars science unexpectedly increased in prominence so that by 1939 the University was in a position to produce some of the best boffins of the Second World War. The study of science was now on a par with traditional Oxford fields of excellence. In this pioneering study Jack Morrell examines how this fundamental transformation took place against considerable odds, and explains how innovators in the sciences overcame academic inertia to build a world-class reputation for scientific studies.