Newton Newton III . . . . The A to Z of Slightly Strange Unknown Victorian Inventors and Explorers

Newton Newton III

Newton Newton III (known to his friends as Ken) had been born into a poor mining family, his father (Newton Newton II) moving to London after he lost his job in the mines when new technology was introduced in the form of the Hutt Hydraulic Hammer. But Newton Newton III was an upbeat young man who loved to explore nature and was convinced that humans had evolved from an earlier less intelligent species on the planet. He often observed the dog eat dog lifestyle of the poverty of the Victorian ghettos of London and how man would battle with dogs to get the scraps of the well off in order to survive, recording the details in his many journals. Unfortunately this led Newton Newton III (Ken) to believe man was descended from dogs which ultimately resulted in his theory being dropped in favour of that of Charles Darwin,

He did realise however that he did not have to go on The Grand Tour to Greece, Persia or Venice or hunt for the source of the Amazon or Nile or climb huge mountains in order to discover new species of plants, animals, pigeons or insects, Publishing several books based on his own ideas and observing the many aspects of wildlife missed by his more affluent contemporaries in more exotic climates.

In fact today several of his books have become classics of there time proving good science is not all about money, these include the following publications

The streams of the Bradford Suburbs

The hedgerows of Port Talbot

The source of the old hill road to Stockdale

The many ponds of Luton

Lyons in London . . . A Guide to Wildlife in London Café Culture.

After discovering a new species of bright red frog in the ponds of Luton Newton Newton III became known as Red Ken. Then as he got older he went into politics having seen the poverty of many parts of Britain eventually becoming head of the GLC (Greater London Council), but his first passion was always wildlife and exploring the backwaters of Great Britain.