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| {{Short description|German scientist (1915–2002)}} | |||
| {{EngvarB|date=September 2014}} | {{EngvarB|date=September 2014}} | ||
| {{Use dmy dates|date=September 2014}} | {{Use dmy dates|date=September 2014}}'''Gerd Walter Christian Sommerhoff''' ] (1915-2002) was a secondary school science teacher in the UK who focused on neuroscience. | ||
| '''Gerd Walter Christian Sommerhoff''' ] (for services to education) was born on 13th February 1915, in ], Germany and died on 28th April 2002, in ], England, United Kingdom. He was a pioneer & lifelong advancer of theoretical ] and a noted ]. | |||
| ==Early life and family== | |||
| A great-grandson of the German composers ] and his wife ], he was living in England at the outset of the ]. Being a foreign national, he blamelessly suffered more than two years in an ] camp in Canada<ref></ref> before decompressing back in England, where he took up a post teaching science at the ] in ].<ref>Intellectual Autobiography by ]. In Metaphysics, Soul, and Ethics in Ancient Thought: Themes from the Work of Richard Sorabji, By Ricardo Salles. ], 2005. {{ISBN|978-0-19-926130-7}}.</ref> While there, he laid the foundation for ] (for which he was honoured by our late queen) using boxes of numbered cards, containing questions, answers, tutorial material, or descriptions of experiments, on a variety of different subjects.<ref name="JPM">. Accessed 16 June 2009.</ref> He became a Research Fellow in ] at ], and presented science programmes for the ] from 1960 to 1962, before being recruited to teach technology in ] in 1963 by headmaster ].<ref>Brian Scragg, Sevenoaks School, A History (1993)</ref> | |||
| Sommerhoff and his twin sister were born in ], to Elizabeth Ruher and Walter Georg Sommerhoff, a wealthy banker who was born in New York to German merchant Arthur Louis Carl Sommerhoff (b. 1 February 1844 in Rodenbach near Hanau; d. 16 August 1911 in Domburg) and his wife piano teacher Elise, née Schumann (1843–1928), the second child of Robert and Clara Schumann. Sommerhoff was a great-grandson of the German composers ] and his wife ]. The Sommerhoff family resided in Haarlem, Netherlands, until the loss of the family fortune in the Wall Street crash and the death of their father "in compromising circumstances".<ref>Gerd Sommerhoff, Obituary, The Times, Friday 17 May 2002</ref> The two younger children moved to Ryde on the ] in 1931 with their mother Elizabeth Sommerhoff when she married Major Bernard Francis Anne Vernon-Harcourt, while their elder brother, Walter Hans Sommerhoff, emigrated to Santiago, Chile.{{citation needed|date=January 2023}} Sommerhoff studied engineering at Zurich Polytechnic (now ]) and philosophy, politics and economics at Oxford University. Sommerhoff was interned in Canada as an enemy alien until 1942.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Richard Brown Baker family papers |url=https://www.rihs.org/mssinv/mss1117.htm |access-date=2023-01-01 |website=]}}</ref>{{Primary source inline|date=January 2023}} | |||
| == Career == | |||
| Some of his students were ],<ref></ref> ], John Paul Morrison,<ref>. Accessed 7 July 2016.</ref> | |||
| Upon release from internment, Sommerhoff taught science at the ].<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/70296478 |title=Metaphysics, soul, and ethics in ancient thought : themes from the work of Richard Sorabji |date=2005 |publisher=Clarendon Press |others=Ricardo Salles |isbn=1-4237-8866-4 |location=Oxford |chapter=Intellectual Autobiography |oclc=70296478}}</ref> While there, he used boxes of numbered cards, containing questions, answers, tutorial material, or descriptions of experiments, on a variety of different subjects.<ref name="JPM">{{Cite web |title=J Paul Morrison :: Biography |url=https://jpaulm.github.io/index.html |access-date=2023-01-01 |website=jpaulm.github.io}}</ref>{{Self-published inline|date=January 2023}} He presented science programmes for the ] from 1960–1962 before being recruited to ] in 1963 by headmaster ].<ref name="book">{{Cite book |last=Scragg |first=Brian |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1108920922 |title=Sevenoaks School : a history |date=1993 |publisher=Ashgrove Press Limited |isbn=1-85398-063-3 |location=Bath |oclc=1108920922}}</ref> His students included ]<ref>{{Cite web |date=2001 |title=Tim Hunt - Biographical |url=http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/medicine/laureates/2001/hunt-bio.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150318163437/http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/medicine/laureates/2001/hunt-bio.html |archive-date=2015-03-18 |access-date=2024-01-18 |website=Nobel Prizes}}</ref> and ].<ref name="JPM" />{{Self-published inline|date=January 2023}} | |||
| ==Child sexual abuse== | |||
| Alice Hemmings reported allegations of sexual abuse dating from 1976 in ''The Sevenoaks Chronicle''. The assault was reported to the Kent Police force by Stuart Neilson in 2012.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.thisiskent.co.uk/Dead-Sevenoaks-teacher-Gerd-Sommerhoff-accused/story-17263435-detail/story.html |title=Dead Sevenoaks teacher Gerd Sommerhoff accused of sexual abuse |first=Alice |last=Hemmings |date=8 November 2012 |agency=Sevenoaks Chronicle |accessdate=8 November 2012 |archive-date=10 November 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131110021739/http://www.thisiskent.co.uk/Dead-Sevenoaks-teacher-Gerd-Sommerhoff-accused/story-17263435-detail/story.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> Sommerhoff was also alleged to have displayed pornography to pupils and to have made obscene remarks including boasts of bestiality. Sevenoaks School agreed to settle a compensation claim by another pupil alleging sexual abuse by Sommerhoff at Sevenoaks School when he was 12 years old. According to the plaintiff's lawyer, Tracey Emmett, "Sommerhoff’s abuse may have been suspected by those who worked with him."<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.sevenoakschronicle.co.uk/Sevenoaks-School-settles-sex-abuse-case-court/story-20048271-detail/story.html |title=Sevenoaks School settles sex abuse case out of court |first=Sean-Paul |last=Doran |date=7 November 2013 |agency=Sevenoaks Chronicle |access-date=7 November 2013 |archive-date=8 November 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131108202738/http://www.sevenoakschronicle.co.uk/Sevenoaks-School-settles-sex-abuse-case-court/story-20048271-detail/story.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> Several further witnesses and victims have subsequently been identified, indicating that Sommerhoff was a preferential paedophile attracted to pubescent boys.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.sevenoakschronicle.co.uk/Sommerhoff-abuse/story-20094871-detail/story.html |title=Sevenoaks School teacher had 'six more victims' of sex abuse, claims accuser |first=Sean-Paul |last=Doran |date=18 November 2013 |agency=Sevenoaks Chronicle |access-date=23 November 2013 |archive-date=3 December 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203022310/http://www.sevenoakschronicle.co.uk/Sommerhoff-abuse/story-20094871-detail/story.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> | |||
| ==Works== | ==Works== | ||
| * {{cite book |last1=Sommerhoff |first1=Gerd |title=Analytical Biology |date=1950 |publisher=Oxford University Press |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Y1DwAAAAMAAJ |language=en}} | |||
| *1950: ''Analytical Biology'' | |||
| * {{Cite book |last=Sommerhoff |first=Gerd |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1014323 |title=Logic of the living brain |date=1974 |publisher=Wiley |isbn=0-471-81305-2 |location=London |oclc=1014323}} | |||
| *1974: ''Logic of the Living Brain'' | |||
| * {{Cite book |last=Sommerhoff |first=Gerd |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/20634326 |title=Life, brain, and consciousness : new perceptions through targeted systems analysis |date=1990 |publisher=North-Holland |isbn=0-444-88436-X |location=Amsterdam |oclc=20634326}} | |||
| *1990: ''Life, Brain and Consciousness'' | |||
| * |
* {{cite journal | doi=10.1007/BF02691012 | volume=29 | issue=2 | title=An account of consciousness in physical and functional terms: A target for research in the neurosciences | journal=Integrative Physiological and Behavioral Science | pages=151–181| year=1994 | last1=Sommerhoff | first1=Gerd | last2=MacDorman | first2=Karl | pmid=7947330 | s2cid=17193883 }} | ||
| * {{Cite book |last=Sommerhoff |first=Gerd |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/646067977 |title=Understanding consciousness : its function and brain processes |date=2000 |publisher=SAGE Publications |isbn=978-0-85702-649-1 |location=London |oclc=646067977}}<ref>Review: {{Cite journal |last=Cole |first=Jonathan |date=2003-12-31 |title=Review of Sommerhoff (2000): Understanding Consciousness: Its Function and Brain Processes |url=http://www.jbe-platform.com/content/journals/10.1075/pc.11.2.13col |journal=Pragmatics & Cognition |language=en |volume=11 |issue=2 |pages=394–404 |doi=10.1075/pc.11.2.13col |issn=0929-0907|url-access=subscription }}</ref> | |||
| *2001: ''Understanding Consciousness – its function and brain processes.''<ref></ref> | |||
| ==References== | ==References== | ||
| {{Reflist}} | {{Reflist}} | ||
| ==Further reading== | ==Further reading== | ||
| * |
*{{cite journal | title = Obituary - Gerd Sommerhoff (1905-2002) | journal = Kybernetes | date = 1 June 2005 | volume = 34 | issue = 5 | issn = 0368-492X | doi = 10.1108/k.2005.06734eab.007 | pmid = | url = }} | ||
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Latest revision as of 01:12, 26 October 2024
German scientist (1915–2002)Gerd Walter Christian Sommerhoff OBE (1915-2002) was a secondary school science teacher in the UK who focused on neuroscience.
Early life and family
Sommerhoff and his twin sister were born in Wiesbaden, Germany, to Elizabeth Ruher and Walter Georg Sommerhoff, a wealthy banker who was born in New York to German merchant Arthur Louis Carl Sommerhoff (b. 1 February 1844 in Rodenbach near Hanau; d. 16 August 1911 in Domburg) and his wife piano teacher Elise, née Schumann (1843–1928), the second child of Robert and Clara Schumann. Sommerhoff was a great-grandson of the German composers Robert Schumann and his wife Clara. The Sommerhoff family resided in Haarlem, Netherlands, until the loss of the family fortune in the Wall Street crash and the death of their father "in compromising circumstances". The two younger children moved to Ryde on the Isle of Wight in 1931 with their mother Elizabeth Sommerhoff when she married Major Bernard Francis Anne Vernon-Harcourt, while their elder brother, Walter Hans Sommerhoff, emigrated to Santiago, Chile. Sommerhoff studied engineering at Zurich Polytechnic (now ETH Zurich) and philosophy, politics and economics at Oxford University. Sommerhoff was interned in Canada as an enemy alien until 1942.
Career
Upon release from internment, Sommerhoff taught science at the Dragon School. While there, he used boxes of numbered cards, containing questions, answers, tutorial material, or descriptions of experiments, on a variety of different subjects. He presented science programmes for the BBC from 1960–1962 before being recruited to Sevenoaks School in 1963 by headmaster Kim Taylor. His students included Tim Hunt and Alan Macfarlane.
Child sexual abuse
Alice Hemmings reported allegations of sexual abuse dating from 1976 in The Sevenoaks Chronicle. The assault was reported to the Kent Police force by Stuart Neilson in 2012. Sommerhoff was also alleged to have displayed pornography to pupils and to have made obscene remarks including boasts of bestiality. Sevenoaks School agreed to settle a compensation claim by another pupil alleging sexual abuse by Sommerhoff at Sevenoaks School when he was 12 years old. According to the plaintiff's lawyer, Tracey Emmett, "Sommerhoff’s abuse may have been suspected by those who worked with him." Several further witnesses and victims have subsequently been identified, indicating that Sommerhoff was a preferential paedophile attracted to pubescent boys.
Works
- Sommerhoff, Gerd (1950). Analytical Biology. Oxford University Press.
- Sommerhoff, Gerd (1974). Logic of the living brain. London: Wiley. ISBN 0-471-81305-2. OCLC 1014323.
- Sommerhoff, Gerd (1990). Life, brain, and consciousness : new perceptions through targeted systems analysis. Amsterdam: North-Holland. ISBN 0-444-88436-X. OCLC 20634326.
- Sommerhoff, Gerd; MacDorman, Karl (1994). "An account of consciousness in physical and functional terms: A target for research in the neurosciences". Integrative Physiological and Behavioral Science. 29 (2): 151–181. doi:10.1007/BF02691012. PMID 7947330. S2CID 17193883.
- Sommerhoff, Gerd (2000). Understanding consciousness : its function and brain processes. London: SAGE Publications. ISBN 978-0-85702-649-1. OCLC 646067977.
References
- Gerd Sommerhoff, Obituary, The Times, Friday 17 May 2002
- "Richard Brown Baker family papers". Rhode Island Historical Society. Retrieved 1 January 2023.
- "Intellectual Autobiography". Metaphysics, soul, and ethics in ancient thought : themes from the work of Richard Sorabji. Ricardo Salles. Oxford: Clarendon Press. 2005. ISBN 1-4237-8866-4. OCLC 70296478.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link) - ^ "J Paul Morrison :: Biography". jpaulm.github.io. Retrieved 1 January 2023.
- Scragg, Brian (1993). Sevenoaks School : a history. Bath: Ashgrove Press Limited. ISBN 1-85398-063-3. OCLC 1108920922.
- "Tim Hunt - Biographical". Nobel Prizes. 2001. Archived from the original on 18 March 2015. Retrieved 18 January 2024.
- Hemmings, Alice (8 November 2012). "Dead Sevenoaks teacher Gerd Sommerhoff accused of sexual abuse". Sevenoaks Chronicle. Archived from the original on 10 November 2013. Retrieved 8 November 2012.
- Doran, Sean-Paul (7 November 2013). "Sevenoaks School settles sex abuse case out of court". Sevenoaks Chronicle. Archived from the original on 8 November 2013. Retrieved 7 November 2013.
- Doran, Sean-Paul (18 November 2013). "Sevenoaks School teacher had 'six more victims' of sex abuse, claims accuser". Sevenoaks Chronicle. Archived from the original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 23 November 2013.
- Review: Cole, Jonathan (31 December 2003). "Review of Sommerhoff (2000): Understanding Consciousness: Its Function and Brain Processes". Pragmatics & Cognition. 11 (2): 394–404. doi:10.1075/pc.11.2.13col. ISSN 0929-0907.
Further reading
- "Obituary - Gerd Sommerhoff (1905-2002)". Kybernetes. 34 (5). 1 June 2005. doi:10.1108/k.2005.06734eab.007. ISSN 0368-492X.