Dr Michael Tribe

Scientist and Sports Historian

Bio

Mike began cruise-line speaking 6 years ago; his informal but enthusiastic presentation style, coupled with humour & the variety of topics offered, have wide appeal to different cruise line audiences.

Mike studied at both Durham & Cambridge universities; was Head of Biology at a London school before taking up a Lectureship at Sussex University.

He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Biology (1978) for his innovative teaching and research on ageing.

In 1999 Sussex Alumni Society gave him an award for Excellence in Teaching.

Since retirement, Mike has given talks to U3A, PROBUS and Eastbourne Ashridge Circle.

A strong interest in Sport stems from his time as an athlete in the 1950s & 60s.

As a National Serviceman representing Fighter Command in the RAF Championships.
President of Durham University Athletic Union.
Represented British Universities internationally.
Awarded Blues at Cambridge for Cross-Country and athletics.
Buckinghamshire county champion in the mile, 3 miles & cross-country.
Inter-Counties representation.

Presentation Talks

TALKS FOR BALTIC CRUISES

THE NOBEL PRIZES

The Nobel prize is one of the most prestigious awards bestowed. The award ceremony is carried out mainly in Stockholm, but the Peace prize is made in Oslo. Alfred Nobel made his fortune from explosives, yet his philanthropy recognized and rewarded people who have made the ‘greatest contribution to mankind’. In the course of the talk, the speaker also includes anecdotes from Nobel laureates he has known.

HAEMOPHILIA, RASPUTIN, FABERGE’S EGGS & THE DEMISE OF THE ROMANOV DYNASTY

The “Royal disease” started with Queen Victoria and affected several European royal families, but none more so than the Russian Romanovs. The Tsar and Tsarina’s only son, Alexei was haemophilic and the only person able to alleviate his symptoms was a Siberian monk & mystic, Rasputin. His influence over the royals and his questionable lifestyle made him many enemies and eventually led to his brutal murder. Also, the autocratic rule and opulent lifestyle of the Tsar, including an Easter gift each year of a Faberge egg from the Tsar to his wife finally led to the Russian Revolution and the deaths of the Romanov family.

REMARKABLE STORIES FROM OLYMPICS AROUND THE BALTIC

Scandinavia has had a long tradition of athletics with many famous athletes. This talk deals with fascinating (often amusing) stories and events from the Stockholm (1912), Antwerp (1920), Amsterdam (1928), Helsinki (1952) and Moscow (1980) Games.

THE CONTROVERSIAL 1936 BERLIN OLYMPICS – HITLER’S GAMES

Several Olympics were controversial; none more so than Berlin in 1936. The Games were a propaganda exercise for the Nazis with sinister events in the background. Despite this, several extraordinary and amusing stories can be told, including those involving the speaker 30 to 40 years later.

TALKS FOR MEDITERRANEAN CRUISES

THE “MEDITERRANEAN DISEASE”

The frequency of “thalassaemias” (the name means ‘anaemias of the sea’) is much higher in Mediterranean populations than others. Why? Malaria has been a major killer for thousands of years with parasite numbers increasing with the rise of agriculture and human settlement. Despite desperate attempts to eradicate malaria, there were still 216 million cases in 2016 with between 450,000-750,000 deaths, mainly in Africa. The talk looks at the ways in which peoples of the Mediterranean and the Middle East have evolved their red blood cells to defend against the malarial parasite (and the price to be paid), comparing them with other mechanisms found in African and Asian populations and why it is so difficult to provide an effective vaccine.

HAEMOPHILIA AND THE SPANISH ROYAL FAMILY

The “Royal disease” started with Queen Victoria and affected several European royal families. Prince Leopold, Queen Victoria’s son died from haemophilia and two of her daughters were carriers like their mother, passing the disease to the Russian and Spanish royal families. Whilst the Russian story of the Tsar’s only son, Alexei, is quite well known. Less is known about the Spanish royal family, where the disease played a role in the origin of the Spanish Civil War.

THE ANCIENT OLYMPICS

The ancient Olympics started in 776BC at Olympia, Greece. At that time Greece was made up of small kingdoms, constantly fighting one another. Eventually, a truce was made every four years so that the best athletes from each kingdom could compete against each other. The Games were very different from the modern ones and were also a religious festival dedicated to Zeus, the King of Greek gods. Evidence at times is patchy for what took place and who started the Games, often confused by myth and legend, but there are some amusing stories. In 146AD the Romans took over the Games, but as Christianity began to flourish the Games were banned as a pagan cult and finished in 426AD with the temple of Zeus burnt to the ground.

THE 1896 AND 2004 ATHENS OLYMPICS

The modern Olympic ideal was started by Baron de Coubertin in 1896 and the first Games hosted in Athens. It is interesting and often amusing to compare these first Olympics with those of 2004. Coubertin’s ideal of athletes meeting every four years from all over the world to promote peace and understanding between nations, as well as taking part for the joy of sport, has just about stood the test of time!

THE 1960 ROME OLYMPICS

Unfortunately, the speaker did not qualify for the Rome Olympics, but had friends who did. There are many interesting stories to tell incorporating those athletes I knew, such as Peter Radford, David Jones, Laurie Reid, Dave Chapman and Herb Elliott.



OTHER LECTURE TOPICS There are a variety of topics that Mike is enthusiastic to talk about. Most subjects can stand alone, but in some cases be collated into an underlying theme. Mike’s aim is to inform, but also entertain. Humour is important and audience enjoyment is key. Mike currently has around 16 different talks. He particularly enjoys talking about famous scientists and sports personalities. He also likes to talk about aging (a subject that affects us all!), as his own research was in this field for a number of years. Lecturing experience Mike has given lectures and talks for over 50 years to a variety of audiences: to university students in the UK, USA and Canada; young scientists in schools, U3A, Probus, WI. Ashridge Circle,workshops abroad in several different countries, and cruise line speaking. SCIENCE TOPICS (all lectures are fully illustrated) Scientific voyages that changed our way of thinking about life on earth. 1 & 2. CHARLES DARWIN AND THE VOYAGE OF THE ‘BEAGLE’. (2 lectures). Part 1. The background to the voyage; the boat; the crew & passengers; the journey from Plymouth to Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina and Tierra del Fuego. Part 2. The journey from Chile to the Galapagos Islands; to New Zealand, Australia and Tasmania via Tahiti. The homeward journey back to Falmouth via Cape Town, St Helena and Ascension Island. How the 5-year voyage called into question the views that Darwin held at the start of the journey and eventually led to his proposal for the theory of evolution. Both talks are extensively illustrated from archive material. 3. ALFRED RUSSEL WALLACE – THE OFTEN FORGOTTEN MAN. Wallace was the joint proposer with Darwin of Evolution by Natural Selection and the father of biogeography, especially of SE Asia. He too had his sailing mishaps. On leaving Brazil his ship caught fire and sunk. Whereas Darwin could be regarded a ‘lucky’ man; Wallace could be considered an ‘unfortunate’. The talk looks at the background of the two men and their contribution to science, as well as the voyages and expeditions undertaken by Wallace. Why do we talk about ‘Darwinism’ but never ‘Wallacism’? 4. A STUDENT EXPEDITION TO ICELAND 60 YEARS AGO. 60 years ago I was part of a small group of students who undertook fieldwork research over 8 weeks in Iceland. This is a story of our experiences and mishaps in a country that has changed quite significantly during that time. ASPECTS OF AGEING. Two talks which in an area of my own research for several years: 5. How long will we live? Why do we grow old? Why do we live as long as we do? Would we really want to live forever? 6. Theories of aging along with a light-hearted view of old age. “MAVERICKS IN SCIENCE” – scientists who think outside the box often against the accepted views of the time. 7. Dr Peter Mitchell ( A British scientist who won the Nobel laureate in Chemistry, 1978 for his work on how cells make their energy) 8.. Prof Lynn Margulis (an American microbiologist who transformed our thinking about the origin of life and the evolution of cells). THE NOBEL PRIZES 9. Stockholm and Oslo are the locations for Nobel Prize Awards. Alfred Noble was a remarkable man; the inventor of dynamite, but a great philanthropist. This talk looks at the origin of the prizes and focuses on the Chemistry prize & the prize for Physiology & Medicine, particularly the prize winners that the speaker has met and their research. (A popular talk with audiences) 10. HAEMOPHILIA, RASPUTIN, FABERGE’S EGGS & THE DEMISE OF THE ROMANOV DYNASTY. The talk starts with the genetics of haemophilia – moves on to Rasputin (a Siberian peasant & mystic) who appeared to be the only person capable of controlling haemophilia in Alexei, the son & heir of Tsar Nicholas II, who as a result had great influence over the royal family. This along with his questionable live style made him many enemies; together with the great wealth of the Tsar, including Easter presents to his wife of Faberge eggs finally precipitated the Russian revolution and the violent deaths of Rasputin and the Romanov family. 11. ‘ANGELS OF MERCY’ OR ‘DOCTORS OF DEATH’? Dr John Bodkin Adams (an Irish doctor) was acquitted of murder in 1956, but Dr Harold Shipman (an English doctor) was sentenced for murder in 2000. Why the difference? SPORTS HISTORY Mike’s keen interest in many sports has led him to talk about “sporting heroes” of the amateur era and now the professional one. 1. “THE MAGIC MILE” – the origin and history of the mile track race from the seventeenth century to 1954 when Sir Roger Bannister broke the 4 minute barrier. Some surprises here! 2. “THE MAGIC MILE” – a history of the track race from 1954 to 1999. The mile has been described as ‘the perfect distance’; neither too short, nor too long. Indeed a drama played out over four laps of the track. The name ‘mile’ has its origins from Roman times. These two extensively illustrated talks, including some video clips, introduce many famous athletes from the past and from many different countries along with the speaker’s involvement as an athlete in the 1950s and 60s. 3. “THE CZECH LOCOMOTIVE” – EMIL ZATOPEK – not only an Olympic legend but a remarkable man” His life is remarkable for triumph over adversity and of his patriotism, sportsmanship and kindness to others. 4. GREAT RUNNERS, GREAT RACES & GREAT RIVALRIES. Scandinavia has a long tradition of track and field athletics, especially middle and long-distance running. Many but not all of the great rivalries have come from Great Britain as well as the Baltic countries. This talk explores the history of some of these events. 5 REMARKABLE STORIES FROM THE BALTIC OLYMPICS. Some remarkable stories have emerged from the Olympic Games held in the Baltic cities of Stockholm (1912), Antwerp (1920), Amsterdam (1928), Helsinki (1952) and Moscow (1980), which audiences will find intriguing. 6. THE CONTROVERSIAL BERLIN OLYMPICS OF 1936 – HITLER’S GAMES. Several Olympics have been controversial but none more so than Berlin in 1936. The Games were extremely well organized and the facilities for the athletes outstanding; also several innovations took place, but it was a major propaganda exercise for the Nazi regime with sinister events going on in the background. (This has been a very popular talk). 7. LOS ANGELES 1932 and 1984. The city has twice been host to the Olympic Games. A comparison is made between the two occasions with some fascinating stories relating to the history of the times. 8. A HISTORY OF THE OLYMPIC GAMES from ancient Greece to the modern era. (2 talks) The ancient Olympics had very different events and qualification criteria to those of the modern era, started in 1896 9. 26.2 MILES – THE MARATHON. A history and origin of the marathon along with some remarkable winners including some old athletic friends who were great marathon runners, notably Ron Hill, Tim Johnston & Eamonn Martin. 10. THE LONDON OLYMPICS – 1908, 1948 & 2012. London has hosted the Games three times, twice by ‘default’ and there have been some wonderful stories.

OTHER LECTURE TOPICS

There are a variety of topics that Mike is enthusiastic to talk about. Most subjects can stand alone, but in some cases be collated into an underlying theme.
Mike’s aim is to inform, but also entertain. Humour is important and audience enjoyment is key.
Mike currently has around 16 different talks. He particularly enjoys talking about famous scientists and sports personalities. He also likes to talk about aging (a subject that affects us all!), as his own research was in this field for a number of years.

Lecturing experience
Mike has given lectures and talks for over 50 years to a variety of audiences: to university students in the UK, USA and Canada; young scientists in schools, U3A, Probus, WI. Ashridge Circle,workshops abroad in several different countries, and cruise line speaking.

SCIENCE TOPICS (all lectures are fully illustrated)
Scientific voyages that changed our way of thinking about life on earth.

1 & 2. CHARLES DARWIN AND THE VOYAGE OF THE ‘BEAGLE’. (2 lectures).
Part 1. The background to the voyage; the boat; the crew & passengers; the journey from Plymouth to Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina and Tierra del Fuego.
Part 2. The journey from Chile to the Galapagos Islands; to New Zealand, Australia and Tasmania via Tahiti. The homeward journey back to Falmouth via Cape Town, St Helena and Ascension Island. How the 5-year voyage called into question the views that Darwin held at the start of the journey and eventually led to his proposal for the theory of evolution. Both talks are extensively illustrated from archive material.

3. ALFRED RUSSEL WALLACE – THE OFTEN FORGOTTEN MAN. Wallace was the joint proposer with Darwin of Evolution by Natural Selection and the father of biogeography, especially of SE Asia. He too had his sailing mishaps. On leaving Brazil his ship caught fire and sunk.
Whereas Darwin could be regarded a ‘lucky’ man; Wallace could be considered an ‘unfortunate’. The talk looks at the background of the two men and their contribution to science, as well as the voyages and expeditions undertaken by Wallace. Why do we talk about ‘Darwinism’ but never ‘Wallacism’?

4. A STUDENT EXPEDITION TO ICELAND 60 YEARS AGO.
60 years ago I was part of a small group of students who undertook fieldwork research over 8 weeks in Iceland. This is a story of our experiences and mishaps in a country that has changed quite significantly during that time.

ASPECTS OF AGEING.
Two talks which in an area of my own research for several years:

5. How long will we live? Why do we grow old? Why do we live as long as we do? Would we really want to live forever?

6. Theories of aging along with a light-hearted view of old age.

“MAVERICKS IN SCIENCE” – scientists who think outside the box often against the accepted views of the time.

7. Dr Peter Mitchell ( A British scientist who won the Nobel laureate in Chemistry, 1978 for his work on how cells make their energy)

8.. Prof Lynn Margulis (an American microbiologist who transformed our thinking about the origin of life and the evolution of cells).

THE NOBEL PRIZES
9. Stockholm and Oslo are the locations for Nobel Prize Awards. Alfred Noble was a remarkable man; the inventor of dynamite, but a great philanthropist. This talk looks at the origin of the prizes and focuses on the Chemistry prize & the prize for Physiology & Medicine, particularly the prize winners that the speaker has met and their research. (A popular talk with audiences)

10. HAEMOPHILIA, RASPUTIN, FABERGE’S EGGS & THE DEMISE OF THE ROMANOV DYNASTY.
The talk starts with the genetics of haemophilia – moves on to Rasputin (a Siberian peasant & mystic) who appeared to be the only person capable of controlling haemophilia in Alexei, the son & heir of Tsar Nicholas II, who as a result had great influence over the royal family. This along with his questionable live style made him many enemies; together with the great wealth of the Tsar, including Easter presents to his wife of Faberge eggs finally precipitated the Russian revolution and the violent deaths of Rasputin and the Romanov family.

11. ‘ANGELS OF MERCY’ OR ‘DOCTORS OF DEATH’? Dr John Bodkin Adams (an Irish doctor) was acquitted of murder in 1956, but Dr Harold Shipman (an English doctor) was sentenced for murder in 2000. Why the difference?

SPORTS HISTORY
Mike’s keen interest in many sports has led him to talk about “sporting heroes” of the amateur era and now the professional one.

1. “THE MAGIC MILE” – the origin and history of the mile track race from the seventeenth century to 1954 when Sir Roger Bannister broke the 4 minute barrier. Some surprises here!

2. “THE MAGIC MILE” – a history of the track race from 1954 to 1999.
The mile has been described as ‘the perfect distance’; neither too short, nor too long. Indeed a drama played out over four laps of the track. The name ‘mile’ has its origins from Roman times. These two extensively illustrated talks, including some video clips, introduce many famous athletes from the past and from many different countries along with the speaker’s involvement as an athlete in the 1950s and 60s.

3. “THE CZECH LOCOMOTIVE” – EMIL ZATOPEK – not only an Olympic legend but a remarkable man”
His life is remarkable for triumph over adversity and of his patriotism, sportsmanship and kindness to others.

4. GREAT RUNNERS, GREAT RACES & GREAT RIVALRIES. Scandinavia has a long tradition of track and field athletics, especially middle and long-distance running. Many but not all of the great rivalries have come from Great Britain as well as the Baltic countries. This talk explores the history of some of these events.

5 REMARKABLE STORIES FROM THE BALTIC OLYMPICS. Some remarkable stories have emerged from the Olympic Games held in the Baltic cities of Stockholm (1912), Antwerp (1920), Amsterdam (1928), Helsinki (1952) and Moscow (1980), which audiences will find intriguing.

6. THE CONTROVERSIAL BERLIN OLYMPICS OF 1936 – HITLER’S GAMES.
Several Olympics have been controversial but none more so than Berlin in 1936. The Games were extremely well organized and the facilities for the athletes outstanding; also several innovations took place, but it was a major propaganda exercise for the Nazi regime with sinister events going on in the background. (This has been a very popular talk).

7. LOS ANGELES 1932 and 1984.
The city has twice been host to the Olympic Games. A comparison is made between the two occasions with some fascinating stories relating to the history of the times.

8. A HISTORY OF THE OLYMPIC GAMES from ancient Greece to the modern era. (2 talks)
The ancient Olympics had very different events and qualification criteria to those of the modern era, started in 1896

9. 26.2 MILES – THE MARATHON.
A history and origin of the marathon along with some remarkable winners including some old athletic friends who were great marathon runners, notably Ron Hill, Tim Johnston & Eamonn Martin.

10. THE LONDON OLYMPICS – 1908, 1948 & 2012. London has hosted the Games three times, twice by ‘default’ and there have been some wonderful stories.

Recent Cruises

Celebrity Silhouette Spain France Sep 9 – 22 2023

Celebrity Silhouette Iceland Norway Baltic Jun 24- Jul 13 2023

Celebrity Silhouette UK Baltic May 13-25 2023

Island Princess Rome eastern Mediterranean & Israel B2B 31 October – 28 November 2022

SAGA Spirit of Advventure British Isles in the Springtime 12-26 May 2022

Diamond Princess M843 and M901 (19 Dec 2018 – 9 Jan 2019) – Singapore and SE Asia. (8 talks).

Ruby Princess R915 (8 April 2019 – 23 April 2019) Los Angeles to Hawaii.(8 talks).

Marella Discovery 15 day Baltic cruise in September 2018. (4 talks)

SAGA Pearl II 21 day Caribbean cruise in November/December 2016 (6 talks)

Presentations