14 Facts About Oliver Gillie

Oliver J Gillie was a British journalist and scientist.

Oliver Gillie previously served as the medical correspondent for The Sunday Times, and later medical editor for The Independent.

Oliver Gillie held a BSc and PhD in genetics, both from Edinburgh University, where he studied at the Institute of Animal Genetics under Conrad H Waddington.

In 1976, Gillie published an article claiming that Burt had fabricated much of the data he had included in his publications, as well as two women whom Burt claimed had been his research assistants, but whom Gillie concluded had never existed.

Oliver Gillie reached this conclusion after investigating to find evidence that either woman had ever existed, talking to people who had known Burt for many years.

Oliver Gillie had talked to human intelligence researchers who told him that Burt's data was suspect.

Oliver Gillie has researched the adverse health effects of vitamin D deficiency, specifically, that caused by insufficient exposure to sunlight.

Oliver Gillie was born in North Shields, Northumberland and was the second of three brothers.

Oliver Gillie's father, John Gillie, was a nautical instrument maker and his mother, Ann, studied fine art in Newcastle and Paris.

Oliver Gillie went to local schools and then graduated with a first-class degree in natural sciences at Edinburgh.

Oliver Gillie had a strawberry birthmark on his left cheek and neck, which he believed cost him a place at Cambridge University.

The don who interviewed him had a much more obvious birthmark, and Oliver Gillie believed the ensuing embarrassment had a negative effect on the interview.

Oliver Gillie was from a Quaker background, and was brought up as a pacifist.

Oliver Gillie believed people should live well and respect their bodies, always opting for a healthy lifestyle.