- For the man who assumed his identity, see John Mathieson.
| P.T. Westmorland | |
 | |
|---|---|
| Biographical information | |
| Full name: | Percival T. Westmorland |
| Birthplace: | United Kingdom |
| Birthdate: | June 2, 1842[1] |
| Status: | Deceased |
| Manner of Death: | Disappeared, presumed dead |
| Died: | 1898 (presumed) |
| Occupation: | Industrialist, biologist |
| Other information | |
| Gender: | Male |
| Hair color: | Brown |
| Relationships | |
| Family: | James Westmorland (father) Abigail Westmorland (mother) |
| Series information | |
| Season/s: | 5 |
| First appearance: | "Let the Children and Childbearers Toil" (illustration) |
Percival "P.T." Westmorland was a British industrialist and biologist who was the founder of Neolution. He was a Darwinist and a eugenicist. His work On the Science of Neolution laid out the principles of the philosophy that would eventually lead to Project LEDA.
His identity was assumed by John Mathieson long after his death, to perpetuate a myth of neolution's life extension abilities.
Biography[]
Born in the United Kingdom on June 2, 1842 to James and Abigail Westmorland, Percival T. Westmorland was educated at Eton College. In 1864, he graduated from Cambridge University. He was a member of the Royal Geographic Society from 1865, at which he published a number of papers promoting eugenics, including "The Management of Reproduction in Feeble-Minded Populations" in 1867.
In 1872, he published On the Science of Neolution, effectively beginning the neolution movement.
In 1894, he studied "Primitive Societies". In Borneo, during his studies, he disappeared into the jungle and was never seen again. By 1898, he was presumed dead.
Legacy[]
A doctored photograph of "P.T. Westmorland", Arthur Conan Doyle, and a tortoise that belonged to Charles Darwin. ("Clutch of Greed")
After faking his death in 1967, American Cambridge student John Patrick Mathieson assumed the identity of P.T. Westmorland. By the 2010s, he claimed to be 170 years old. To fill in the gaps, several details about his life were faked, such as photographs pertaining to be Westmorland which were actually Mathieson.
After reading On the Science of Neolution, Cosima Niehaus considered Westmorland "a racist blowhard" who believed poverty to be genetic.
Trivia[]
- While P.T. Westmorland is a fictional creation, many aspects of his biography and his works appear to be based on that of real historical figures, such as Charles Darwin, Herbert Hope Risley, Madison Grant, and Houston Stewart Chamberlain.
Footnotes[]
- ↑ In "Let the Children and Childbearers Toil", Westmorland's birth year is mentioned as 1843. However, in the next episode "Ease For Idle Millionaires" a specific birthdate is provided which also gives the year of 1842.