Sir Timothy Raison

The account of the founding of New Scientist in the otherwise excellent obituary of Sir Timothy Raison by my old friend Tam Dalyell (11 October) is not entirely right, writes Dr Bernard Dixon. Tim was not a co-founder of the magazine, as stated in the headline. The New Scientist (as it was then called) was launched in 1956 by Tim's father Max together with Nick Harrison – the name of the company was Harrison Raison & Co. Dr Donald Gould was not the first editor. Percy Cudlipp, with Dr Tom Margerison as "scientific editor", was the original editor. He was followed by Nigel Calder, and he by Donald.