In 1914 the international reputation of Oxford University as a centre of learning and research was largely confined to arts subjects, and particularly classics. However, between the wars, science unexpectedly increased in prominence so that by 1939 the University was in a position to produce some of the best boffins of the Second World War. This book examines how this fundamental transformation took place against considerable odds, and explains how innovators in the sciences overcame academic inertia to build a world-class reputation for scientific studies.