Nicholas Hughes
Encyclopedia
Nicholas Farrar Hughes was a fisheries biologist known as an expert in stream salmonid
ecology. Hughes was the son of the American
poet Sylvia Plath
and English poet Ted Hughes
and the younger brother of English artist and poet Frieda Hughes
. He and his sister were well known to the public through the media when he was a small child, especially after the well-publicized suicide of his mother. Hughes held dual
British
/American citizenship.
, Devon, England in 1962, the same year that Ted Hughes left Sylvia Plath for Assia Gutmann Wevill
. After her son was born, Plath wrote most of the poems that would comprise her most famous collection of poems Ariel and published her semi-autobiographical novel about mental illness
The Bell Jar
. On February 11, 1963, while Nicholas and his sister slept in the next room, Plath placed towels around the kitchen door to make sure the fumes did not reach their cots, and committed suicide
using the toxic gas from the kitchen oven.
Plath addressed one of her last poems, "Nick and the Candlestick" to her son:
After their mother's death, Ted Hughes took over the care of his two children, and raised them with his second wife, Carol, on their farm in Devon after their marriage in 1970. Despite the posthumous fame of Sylvia Plath, and the growing literary and biographical writings about her death, Nicholas was not told about the circumstances of his mother's suicide until the 1970s. It was not until 1998 that Hughes published Birthday Letters
, over 30 years of poems about Plath, which he dedicated to his two children.
In the Poem "Life After Death" Hughes recounts how:
, receiving a BA
degree in zoology
in 1984 and a Master of Arts
degree, also in zoology, in 1990. From 1984 to 1991 he also worked in Fairbanks, Alaska
as a research assistant at the Alaska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, part of the Biological Resources Division of the United States Geological Survey, and from 1990 to 1991 he was a student intern with the Sportfish Division of the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. In 1991 he earned a Ph.D. in biology from University of Alaska Fairbanks
(UAF).
After receiving his doctorate, Hughes held a variety of positions, instructing at UAF's School of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences in 1991-1992 and working as a research associate with UAF's Institute of Arctic Biology
from 1992 to 1998. He held a post-doctoral fellowship from 1993 to 1995 with the Behavioral Ecology Research Group at Simon Fraser University
in Burnaby
, British Columbia
and was a research associate there from 1995 to 1998. In September 1998 he became an assistant professor in the School of Fisheries and Ocean Science at UAF. Hughes studied stream salmonid ecology and conducted research both in the Alaska Interior
and in New Zealand
. He was a member of the American Fisheries Society.
During his scientific career, Hughes made notable contributions to the field of stream ecology and was considered a prominent Alaskan biologist. According to a Fairbanks reporter, Dermot Cole:
He resigned from his faculty position at UAF in December 2006, but continued to pursue his scientific research, and was a key scientist in an ongoing study of king salmon at the time of his death.
. According to his sister Frieda and his UAF colleagues, he had been depressed.
Salmonidae
Salmonidae is a family of ray-finned fish, the only living family currently placed in the order Salmoniformes. It includes salmon, trout, chars, freshwater whitefishes and graylings...
ecology. Hughes was the son of the American
Americans
The people of the United States, also known as simply Americans or American people, are the inhabitants or citizens of the United States. The United States is a multi-ethnic nation, home to people of different ethnic and national backgrounds...
poet Sylvia Plath
Sylvia Plath
Sylvia Plath was an American poet, novelist and short story writer. Born in Massachusetts, she studied at Smith College and Newnham College, Cambridge before receiving acclaim as a professional poet and writer...
and English poet Ted Hughes
Ted Hughes
Edward James Hughes OM , more commonly known as Ted Hughes, was an English poet and children's writer. Critics routinely rank him as one of the best poets of his generation. Hughes was British Poet Laureate from 1984 until his death.Hughes was married to American poet Sylvia Plath, from 1956 until...
and the younger brother of English artist and poet Frieda Hughes
Frieda Hughes
Frieda Rebecca Hughes is an English poet and painter. She has published seven children's books and four poetry collections and has had many exhibitions.-Early life:...
. He and his sister were well known to the public through the media when he was a small child, especially after the well-publicized suicide of his mother. Hughes held dual
Multiple citizenship
Multiple citizenship is a status in which a person is concurrently regarded as a citizen under the laws of more than one state. Multiple citizenships exist because different countries use different, and not necessarily mutually exclusive, citizenship requirements...
British
British nationality law
British nationality law is the law of the United Kingdom that concerns citizenship and other categories of British nationality. The law is complex because of the United Kingdom's former status as an imperial power.-History:...
/American citizenship.
Early life
Nicholas was born in North TawtonNorth Tawton
North Tawton is a small town in Devon, England, situated on the river Taw.-History:The Romans crossed the River Taw at what is now Newland Mill, a little outside the present town, and established a succession of military camps there over the years...
, Devon, England in 1962, the same year that Ted Hughes left Sylvia Plath for Assia Gutmann Wevill
Assia Wevill
Assia Wevill was a German-born woman who escaped the Nazis, lived in British Palestine and later in Britain, and is best known for her relationship with the English poet Ted Hughes. She killed herself and also her four-year-old daughter Alexandra Tatiana Elise . Six years earlier, Hughes's wife...
. After her son was born, Plath wrote most of the poems that would comprise her most famous collection of poems Ariel and published her semi-autobiographical novel about mental illness
Mental illness
A mental disorder or mental illness is a psychological or behavioral pattern generally associated with subjective distress or disability that occurs in an individual, and which is not a part of normal development or culture. Such a disorder may consist of a combination of affective, behavioural,...
The Bell Jar
The Bell Jar
The Bell Jar is American writer and poet Sylvia Plath's only novel, which was originally published under the pseudonym "Victoria Lucas" in 1963. The novel is semi-autobiographical with the names of places and people changed...
. On February 11, 1963, while Nicholas and his sister slept in the next room, Plath placed towels around the kitchen door to make sure the fumes did not reach their cots, and committed suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
using the toxic gas from the kitchen oven.
Plath addressed one of her last poems, "Nick and the Candlestick" to her son:
O love, how did you get here?
O embryo..
In you, ruby.
The pain
You wake to is not yours.
After their mother's death, Ted Hughes took over the care of his two children, and raised them with his second wife, Carol, on their farm in Devon after their marriage in 1970. Despite the posthumous fame of Sylvia Plath, and the growing literary and biographical writings about her death, Nicholas was not told about the circumstances of his mother's suicide until the 1970s. It was not until 1998 that Hughes published Birthday Letters
Birthday Letters
Birthday Letters, published in 1998, is a collection of poetry by English poet and children's writer Ted Hughes. Released only months before Hughes's death, the collection won multiple prestigious literary awards...
, over 30 years of poems about Plath, which he dedicated to his two children.
In the Poem "Life After Death" Hughes recounts how:
Your son's eyes.... would become
So perfectly your eyes,
Became wet jewels
The hardest substance of the purest pain
As I fed him in his high white chair.
Professional career
Hughes was passionate about wildlife, especially fish. He attended Oxford UniversityUniversity of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
, receiving a BA
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
degree in zoology
Zoology
Zoology |zoölogy]]), is the branch of biology that relates to the animal kingdom, including the structure, embryology, evolution, classification, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinct...
in 1984 and a Master of Arts
Master of Arts (postgraduate)
A Master of Arts from the Latin Magister Artium, is a type of Master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The M.A. is usually contrasted with the M.S. or M.Sc. degrees...
degree, also in zoology, in 1990. From 1984 to 1991 he also worked in Fairbanks, Alaska
Fairbanks, Alaska
Fairbanks is a home rule city in and the borough seat of the Fairbanks North Star Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska.Fairbanks is the largest city in the Interior region of Alaska, and second largest in the state behind Anchorage...
as a research assistant at the Alaska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, part of the Biological Resources Division of the United States Geological Survey, and from 1990 to 1991 he was a student intern with the Sportfish Division of the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. In 1991 he earned a Ph.D. in biology from University of Alaska Fairbanks
University of Alaska Fairbanks
The University of Alaska Fairbanks, located in Fairbanks, Alaska, USA, is the flagship campus of the University of Alaska System, and is abbreviated as Alaska or UAF....
(UAF).
After receiving his doctorate, Hughes held a variety of positions, instructing at UAF's School of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences in 1991-1992 and working as a research associate with UAF's Institute of Arctic Biology
Institute of Arctic Biology
The Institute of Arctic Biology or IAB of the University of Alaska Fairbanks, is located in Fairbanks, Alaska, USA. The institute was established in 1963 by the Board of Regents of the University of Alaska, with Laurence Irving serving as its founding director...
from 1992 to 1998. He held a post-doctoral fellowship from 1993 to 1995 with the Behavioral Ecology Research Group at Simon Fraser University
Simon Fraser University
Simon Fraser University is a Canadian public research university in British Columbia with its main campus on Burnaby Mountain in Burnaby, and satellite campuses in Vancouver and Surrey. The main campus in Burnaby, located from downtown Vancouver, was established in 1965 and has more than 34,000...
in Burnaby
Burnaby, British Columbia
Burnaby is a city in British Columbia, Canada, located immediately to the east of Vancouver. It is the third-largest city in British Columbia by population, surpassed only by nearby Surrey and Vancouver....
, British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
and was a research associate there from 1995 to 1998. In September 1998 he became an assistant professor in the School of Fisheries and Ocean Science at UAF. Hughes studied stream salmonid ecology and conducted research both in the Alaska Interior
Alaska Interior
The Alaska Interior covers most of the U.S. state's territory. It is largely wilderness. Mountains include Mount McKinley in the Alaska Range, the Wrangell Mountains, and the Ray Mountains....
and in New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
. He was a member of the American Fisheries Society.
During his scientific career, Hughes made notable contributions to the field of stream ecology and was considered a prominent Alaskan biologist. According to a Fairbanks reporter, Dermot Cole:
He resigned from his faculty position at UAF in December 2006, but continued to pursue his scientific research, and was a key scientist in an ongoing study of king salmon at the time of his death.
Death
On March 16, 2009, Hughes hanged himself in his home in Fairbanks, AlaskaFairbanks, Alaska
Fairbanks is a home rule city in and the borough seat of the Fairbanks North Star Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska.Fairbanks is the largest city in the Interior region of Alaska, and second largest in the state behind Anchorage...
. According to his sister Frieda and his UAF colleagues, he had been depressed.
External links
- New York Times profile
- "Hughes-Plath Family Tree" http://ragazine.cc/2011/08/nick-hughes