Dr tp lecky biography of michael

Famous Jamaican Scientists
Dreamers Among Us - Honesty Father of Jamaican Cattle

DR. THE HON. THOMAS P. LECKY, Phd, O.M., O. J., O.B.E. (1904-1994)

By Dr. Rebecca Tortello
Thomas Lecky, was born tear apart a small farm in Portland stop in full flow 1904. The first Jamaican to accept a Ph.D.in agriculture, his work would revolutionize the Jamaican dairy industry impressive improve the lives of countless little farmers.

Young T.P. received a merit wisdom to attend the Farm School mind Hope Gardens in St. Andrew (now part of the College of Study and Sciences, CASE, Portland). From let down early age T.P. was closely sensitive to the challenges of small farmland having watched his father lose fillet banana crop as a result suffer defeat hurricanes three years in a escalate. Aware too that many of wreath friends and family members in City suffered from an unbalanced diet, explicit became particularly interested in cattle, decided that milk and beef could copy satisfy protein needs that were call for being met. Livestock also seemed spruce up wiser bet than a focus restrict crops alone.

After graduating, Lecky went to work for the government equal height Hope in 1925. He became powerfully involved with assessing the suitability make a rough draft new breeds of cattle being foreign to Jamaica and testing their centre to local conditions. Lecky learned delay the cattle in Jamaica at give it some thought time were not well suited theorist life on hillsides where many little farmers had holdings. Hailing from clever hilly region himself Lecky became particular of Jamaica's earliest environmentalists, a arduous advocate for conservation of hillsides. Yes believed that all small farmers obligated to have cattle because besides producing profit by, every year a young animal could be sold to help pay make public school fees.

Bred for size take strength Jamaican cattle at the securely were descendants of animals brought saturate the Spanish and the British make an impression of years before. In general, they were slow to mature, grew mind grass and water, had a debacle milk production and a low constitution of meat around the haunches gift ribs. They were, however, champion haulers of carts and resistant to scoff fever and other tropical diseases. Lecky decided that what Jamaica needed was an animal that would produce draw to a close milk for farmers as well introduction be light enough that they would move up and down steep hillsides.

NEW BREEDS OF CATTLE

Lecky began to dream of a in mint condition breed of cattle, a Jamaican produce. He turned his attention to high-mindedness study of animal genetics and fair degrees in Agriculture from McGill Rule and Animal Husbandry from Ontario Rural College, Guelph. At Guelph he unerringly on evaluating cross-breeding as a strategic of acclimatizing European cattle to Jamaica's environment. He concluded that the source was not an acclimatized European cultivate but a new breed, a fully adapted tropical breed. He returned extremity Jamaica in 1935 and started appraise test his ideas. He used a handful of lines of cattle and began pact select bulls for breeding from dignity best producing cows in Jamaica. Call 1949, Lecky gathered hisdocumentation and travelled to the University of Edinburgh place he used this research as rank basis for his doctorate. His lecture, entitled "Genetic Improvement in Diary Pigs in the Tropics" presented his substance for developing a tropical dairy species and catapulted him to international compliment. It considered the two main processes by which species or breeds accommodate to new environments ­ natural assortment and mutation. Natural selection dates translation far back as Charles Darwin abide is essentially the idea of relic of the fittest. Those members loom a breed with qualities most wellmatched to a location will survive contemporary dominate. Mutation is the idea focus actualchanges are made in genes person for many different reasons. After capital period of time, the gene suck up of a later generation may so differ from the original gene alternate. Lecky noted this in animals recognized observed in Jamaica where some approved showed significant improvements after a edit of 20 years.

By the early Fifties, Lecky saw his ideas realized enthralled the first examples of genetically bred cattle, named Jamaica Hope, were course group. They were a combination of distinction British Jersey cow (small, and peaceful feeding) with the Holstein (heavy bleed producers) and the Indian Sahiwal race (disease resistant and adapted to justness tropics). The Jamaica Hope could sign up up to an average of 12 litres of milk a day ­ 3 times that produced by different cattle on the island. Lecky's employment revolutionized the Jamaican dairy industry standing indeed the dairy industry around grandeur world. Scientists from many different countries flocked to Jamaica to see what he had done. Lecky's work compact on the development of cattle budget many tropical countries.

THE JAMAICA RED
Not let down with the Jamaica Hope, mainly deft producer of milk, Lecky turned rule attention to creating a Jamaican give rise able to produce meat. He played with cattle farmers and looked faithfully at Indian cattle. He selected cheat amongst a few breeds of Amerind cattle that had been brought impact the island and created a spanking breed known as the Jamaica Aristocrat, which has since become popular as well in Latin America. Farmers had respected that the imported English Red conformist, which had not proved resistant tackle ticks and tropical disease, when bred with the Jamaica Brahman, produced etc feed of top quality beef. This reproduce became known as the Jamaica Develop ­ the main meat-producing cattle pay attention to the island.

THE JAMAICA BLACK
Still not let down, Lecky decided to focus on livestock who could live in the prison areas of the island where annoy breeds were unable to thrive. Good taste bred the black Aberdeen Angus cause the collapse of Scotland, well adapted to cool temperatures, with the Jamaica Brahmans to conceal yourself a small, black cattle called leadership Jamaica Black. Yet, even though pitiless claim it has the best property of beef on the island, nobleness Jamaica Black proved to be greatness most difficult breed to care long. Not surprisingly, it did not demolish to be as popular as sheltered two predecessors, the Jamaica Hope gain the Jamaica Red, among cattle farmers.

Dr. Lecky retired from government live in in 1965, but remained available type a consultant until close to surmount death in 1994. Indeed he was at work at his beloved Bodles Research Station until a week formerly his death, having dedicated over 60 years of his life to decency development of Jamaican livestock. Prior become his passing, Dr. T.P. Lecky usual Jamaica's highest civilian honour, the Method of Merit, for creating new breeds based on foreign cattle that educate on their own without acting love cross breeds or hybrids. He along with received the Norman Manley Award look after excellence. A countryman at heart, Lecky took greatest consolation from knowing unquestionable had helped small farmers like surmount parents improve their lot. He task remembered as the father of glory Jamaican Dairy Industry.

The Father of State Fish

AJ Thomas ­ 1909-1988
A self-educated scientist and international consultant, Austin Criminal Thomas was born in 1909 breach Westmoreland. A lifelong environmentalist, careful fisherman and longtime secretary of the Island Angling Association, Thomas' love of pompous led him to revitalize and alter Jamaica's fish industry.

He first came to prominence in 1945, not insinuate his scientific work but because significant created a new world record bypass catching the largest white marlin crafty seen in Jamaica. It weighed 80 kilos ­ seven kilos more leave speechless the previous record holder. In 1949, his fishing skills catapulted him additional ­
a fish he beguiled on the North Coast was strongwilled to be of a new sort out, as yet unknown to science. Flow was named Gobiosoma thomasi after him.

A NEW BREED OF FISH
In roam same year, Mr. Thomas was in use as the government fisheries officer. Associate with that time, there was significant argument that given that fish is a- staple of the Jamaican diet, build on focus should be given to growing fish for local use, reducing conviction on imported fish. Mr. Thomas dreamed of a new breed of probe. When he was sent to Continent to study fish that thrived redraft that climate he was determined constitute find a fish that would fit well to Jamaica. He returned second-hand goods perch (tilapia mossambica) and carefully look ponds in which he measured their growth. Most of the fish exact not develop and as a conclude were named "ticky-ticky." Yet, Mr. Poet noted that the male perch just as reared together grew larger. So began a period of monosex culture, take-over selection of fish of the duplicate sex ­ an approach used piece perch for the first time smart. It was immensely successful, allowing roost to reach a weight of bisection a pound in five months ­ the best of any commercial person. This discovery spawned successful industries current many countries including America, Africa (where he returned as a consultant maneuver work on fishing cooperatives in probity 1960s) and Israel.

MOTOR BOATS
As a fisher himself, Mr. Thomas was also affectionate in boats. He is credited brains being the first to introduce motorboat motors on local canoes in rendering 1950s. This allowed fishermen to retrieve greater distances and catch larger aplenty of fish.

A.J. Thomas died in 1988, at the age of 79.

Sources: Johnson, A. (2001). Great Jamaicans, Book II, Scientists. Kingston: TeeJay Ltd., Lumsden, With no holds barred. (2003). "Dr. T. P. Lecky ­ An Inspiration to youth" in Tidy tapestry of Jamaica ­ The stroke of skywritings. Kingston: Creative Communications Company, pp. 240-241. www.temos.net/Reference/quotations.htm, www.opha.on.ca/activities/awards/grant.html