Johnny Ball
Born	May 21, 1938 (1938-05-21) (age 69) Bristol, Lancashire, England
Occupation	Presenter
Children	3

Johnny Ball (born May 23, 1938) is a British television personality, a great populariser of mathematics and the father of former BBC Radio 1 DJ, and TV host, Zoë Ball. Originally from Bristol, he spent his primary years there and later in his childhood moved to Bolton, Lancashire. Image File history File links 6944454_bb36f19f8d_m. ... is the 141st day of the year (142nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1938 (MCMXXXVIII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_England. ... This article is about the English city. ... Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England, bounded to the west by the Irish Sea. ... For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ... A television presenter is a British term for a person who is known for introducing or hosting television programmes. ... is the 143rd day of the year (144th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1938 (MCMXXXVIII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Popular mathematics is mathematics literature aimed at a general audience. ... BBC Radio 1 (commonly referred to as just Radio 1) is a British national radio station operated by the BBC, specialising in popular music and speech and is aimed primarily at the 14-29[1] age group. ... Zoë Louise Ball (born November 23, 1970 in Blackpool, Lancashire) is an English television and radio personality, most famous for becoming the first female host of the prestigious BBC Radio 1 breakfast show. ... This article is about the English city. ... For the larger local government district, see Metropolitan Borough of Bolton. ... Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England, bounded to the west by the Irish Sea. ...

He was a regular fixture on children's television in the 1970s and 1980s, presenting several series of popular science and technology programmes intended for children (including Think of a Number; Think Again; Think Backwards; Think...This Way and Johnny Ball Reveals All). He was also one of the hosts of infant education programme Play School. All of these shows (except the ITV programme ...Reveals All) appeared on the BBC. Johnny's shows were renowned for presenting scientific and technological principles in an entertaining and accessible way for young people. Play School was a long-running British series. ... For other uses, see BBC (disambiguation). ...

He was Rector of the University of Glasgow from 1993 to 1996. The position of Lord Rector of the University of Glasgow is elected every three years by the students at the University of Glasgow. ...

In 2003, he appeared on The Terry and Gaby Show in which he answered viewers' questions, though he prefers radio interviews to TV appearances, of which he makes very few. The Terry & Gaby Show was a daytime television show broadcast on five on weekday mornings between June 2003 and March 2004, produced by UMTV. It was hosted by Terry Wogan and Gaby Roslin. ...

In July, 2004 he was named in the Radio Times list of the top 40 most eccentric TV presenters of all time.^{[citation needed]}

Johnny is in favour of nuclear power and has given many talks and speeches arguing for the development of nuclear power^{[citation needed]}. This article is about applications of nuclear fission reactors as power sources. ...

In November 2006, Ball voiced his opposition to the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act, which would require any adult working with children to be vetted by the Criminal Records Bureau. In an interview with The Sunday Times, he said: "It is like George Orwell’s 1984... a quarter of adults will have to be checked... The fear we are instilling in [children] is abhorrent."^[1] In this day an age of security checking, bombings, money laundering etc. ... The Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) is an executive agency of the Home Office in the United Kingdom, which conducts criminal record checks on potential employees on behalf of organisations and recruiters throughout England and Wales. ... The Sunday Times is a Sunday broadsheet newspaper distributed in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland, published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News International which is in turn owned by News Corporation. ...

Bibliography

• Ball, Johnny (2005). Think of a number. Dorling Kindersley. ISBN 1-4053-1031-6. 
• Ball, Johnny (2005). Go Figure!. Dorling Kindersley. ISBN 0-7566-1374-4.  (American edition of "Think of a Number")
• Ball, Johnny (1982). Johnny Ball's Think Box. Puffin. ISBN 0-14-031545-4. 
• Ball, Johnny (1987). Johnny Ball's Second Thinks. Puffin. ISBN 0-14-031819-4. 
• Ball, Johnny (1983). Plays for Laughs. Puffin. ISBN 0-14-031548-9. 
• Ball, Johnny (1979). Think of a number. BBC. ISBN 0-563-17755-1.  (different from the 2005 book of the same name).

References

The Sunday Times is a Sunday broadsheet newspaper distributed in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland, published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News International which is in turn owned by News Corporation. ...

External links

• Johnny Ball biography and credits at BFI Screenonline
• Johnny Ball Productions—official site
• Think of a number... think Johnny Ball
• Johnny Ball 'slates' children's TV
• What Would Johnny Do? - Johnny Ball the role model