Profile of Action Learning's Principal Pioneer–Reginald W. Revans

This article attempts to provide a short profile of Professor R. W. Revans—the founding father of action learning. It traces a life which quickly indicated intellectual and athletic gifts—with determination and deep humanitarianism. In the 1930s, Revans cleaned the blackboard for Einstein and was the last doctoral student of J.J. Thomson (father of the electron) at the Cavendish Laboratories (Cambridge), where Baron Ernest Rutherford headed the laboratory and worked to split the atom. Revans' work before, during, and after the war is referred to, mentioning his days at the Coal Board, Manchester University, the HIC (Hospital Internal Communication) project, Belgium, and finally mentioning some current action learning developments.