biology

John Shaw Lefevre

John Shaw Lefevre is a biology topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand John Shaw Lefevre rather than just read about it. In short: Sir John George Shaw Lefevre KCB (24 January 1797 – 20 August 1879) was a British barrister, Whig politician and civil servant. Career Shaw Lefevre was the son of Charles Shaw Lefevre by his wife Helen, daughter of John Lefevre.

Key takeaways

John Shaw Lefevre belongs to biology; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect John Shaw Lefevre to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of John Shaw Lefevre from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Sir John George Shaw Lefevre KCB (24 January 1797 – 20 August 1879) was a British barrister, Whig politician and civil servant.

Career Shaw Lefevre was the son of Charles Shaw Lefevre by his wife Helen, daughter of John Lefevre. Charles Shaw-Lefevre, 1st Viscount Eversley, was his elder brother. He was educated at Trinity College, Cambridge, where he was Senior Wrangler in 1818, and was called to the Bar, Inner Temple. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1820. He was returned to Parliament for Petersfield in December 1832, but was unseated on petition in March 1833. He served under Lord Grey as Under-Secretary of State for War and the Colonies in 1834. The latter year Shaw Lefevre was appointed a Poor Law Commissioner after the passing of the Poor Law Amendment Act 1834, which he remained until 1841. Between 1856 and 1875 he served as Clerk of the Parliaments. He also helped found the University of London and served as its Vice-Chancellor for many years. He was made a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath (KCB) in 1857 for his public services.

Marriage and family Shaw Lefevre married Rachel Emily, daughter of Ichabod Wright, in 1824. They had one surviving son, George, who became a prominent politician and was ennobled as Baron Eversley, and five daughters. One daughter, Madeleine Shaw-Lefevre, was the first Principal of Somerville Hall; another daughter, Rachel, married Arthur Hamilton-Gordon, son of the Prime Minister the 4th Earl of Aberdeen. Shaw Lefevre died in August 1879, aged 82. His wife lived for six more years before dying in February 1885.

Legacy The Lefevre Peninsula in South Australia, was named by Governor John Hindmarsh on 3 June 1837 after Shaw Lefevre, who was one of South Australia's Colonisation Commissioners. In 1880, Lady Shaw Lefevre presented his library of Russian books to the University of London Library.

References

Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Charles Shaw Lefevre, Viscount § George John Shaw Lefevre" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 10 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 10. F. M. G. Willson, A Strong Supporting Cast: The Shaw Lefevres, 1789-1936 (The Athlone Press, 1993)

External links Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by Sir John Shaw-Lefevre Parliamentary Archives, Papers of John George Shaw Lefevre, 1797-1879

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with John Shaw Lefevre

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what John Shaw Lefevre claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In biology, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to John Shaw Lefevre before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about John Shaw Lefevre ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of John Shaw Lefevre

In research: John Shaw Lefevre appears in biology research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses John Shaw Lefevre in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: John Shaw Lefevre is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1797 births, 1879 deaths, Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for John Shaw Lefevre outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study John Shaw Lefevre in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what John Shaw Lefevre means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain John Shaw Lefevre out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is John Shaw Lefevre in simple terms?

Sir John George Shaw Lefevre KCB (24 January 1797 – 20 August 1879) was a British barrister, Whig politician and civil servant. Career Shaw Lefevre was the son of Charles Shaw Lefevre by his wife Helen, daughter of John Lefevre.

Why does John Shaw Lefevre matter?

Because it connects several biology ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study John Shaw Lefevre?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on John Shaw Lefevre.