John Wilfred Jenkinson (1871–1915) was a pioneer in the field of comparative developmental biology (the forerunner of evolutionary developmental biology) and one of the first to introduce experimental embryology to the UK at the start of the 20th century. He originally studied Classics as an undergraduate student at Oxford, before switching his attention to Zoology under the guidance of W. F. R. Weldon at University College London. He also travelled to Utrecht in the Netherlands, to work with Hubrecht, and was exposed to new methods and approaches in embryology. In 1905, he was appointed the first lecturer in Embryology at the University of Oxford in England, and in 1909 published the first English textbook on experimental embryology in which he summarized recent work in the emerging scientific discipline and criticized neo-vitalist theories of Hans Driesch. At the outbreak of war in 1914, Jenkinson joined the Oxford Volunteer Training Corps. In January 1915 he was assigned to the 12th Battalion of the Worcestershire Regiment and was soon promoted to the rank of captain. Jenkinson left England with his regiment in May, posted to the Dardanelles in Turkey. On 4 June 1915, just days after arriving on the Gallipoli peninsula, Jenkinson was killed. After Jenkinson's death at Gallipoli in June 1915, the University of Oxford established the John Wilfred Jenkinson Lectureship in his memory. The original statutes required the lecturer or lecturers, appointed annually, to deliver “one or more lectures or lecture demonstrations on comparative or experimental embryology”. Each year, a Board of Electors selects one or two Jenkinson Lecturers who are invited to Oxford to present a lecture in the broad area of developmental biology. The list of Jenkinson Lecturers includes many distinguished names, including Nobel Laureates (marked with *). Holders of the J. W. Jenkinson Lectureship 1961 Michail Fischberg 1962 P. H. Tuft 1963 Wolfgang Beerman 1964 Jean Brachet 1965 Rupert E. Billingham, 1966 Jan Erik Edstrom 1966 Alberto Monroy 1967 *Bob Edwards 1968 Georg Klein 1969 R. M. Gaze 1969 H. Chantrenne 1970 *Sydney Brenner 1970 Niels Kaj Jerne 1971 Ernst Hadorn 1971 J. M. Mitchison 1972 Anne McLaren 1972 G. Gerisch 1973 Susumu Ohno 1974 Ruggero Ceppellini 1975 Andrzej Tarkowski 1976 No formal lecture was held 1977 Nils R. Ringertz 1978 Martin Luscher 1978 Armin C. Braun 1980 Pasko Rakic 1980 Walter Fiers 1980 Nicole Le Douarin 1981 Werner Reichardt 1981 Antonio Garcia-Bellido 1982 Lionel Jaffe 1982 Maurice