NationMaster - Encyclopedia: David Meredith Seares Watson

David Meredith Seares Watson FRS (18 June 1886–23 July 1973) was the Jodrell Professor of Zoology and Comparative Anatomy at University College, London from 1921 to 1951. The Fellowship of the Royal Society was founded in 1660. ... June 18 is the 169th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (170th in leap years), with 196 days remaining. ... 1886 (MDCCCLXXXVI) is a common year starting on Friday (click on link to calendar) // Events January 18 - Modern field hockey is born with the formation of The Hockey Association in England. ... July 23 is the 204th day (205th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 161 days remaining. ... 1973 (MCMLXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday. ... The Front Quad University College London, commonly known as UCL, is one of the colleges that make up the University of London. ... 1921 (MCMXXI) was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... 1951 (MCMLI) was a common year starting on Monday; see its calendar. ...

Biography

Early life

Watson was born at Higher Broughton, near Salford, Lancashire, the only son of David Watson, a pioneering metallurgist. He was educated at Manchester Grammar School and the University of Manchester. He specialised in geology and began to study plant fossils in coal deposits. In 1907, his final year, he published an important paper on coal balls with Marie Stopes (who had an early career as a paleobotanist); after graduating with first class honours he was appointed as a Beyer fellow at Manchester and went on to complete his MSc in 1909. Refurbished 1960s built high rise apartments Salford is a city in the north-west of England. ... Lancashire is a county and duchy palatine in the North West of England, bounded to the west by the Irish Sea. ... Metallurgy is a domain of materials science and of materials engineering that studies the physical and chemical behavior of metallic elements and their mixtures, which are called alloys. ... The Manchester Grammar School (MGS) is an independent boys school (ages 11-18) in Fallowfield, Manchester, England. ... The University of Manchester in Manchester, England, was formed by the merger of the Victoria University of Manchester (commonly known as the University of Manchester before the merger) and UMIST (University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology) on 1 October 2004. ... It has been suggested that Fossil record be merged into this article or section. ... Coal (previously referred to as pitcoal or seacoal) is a fossil fuel extracted from the ground by underground mining or open-pit mining (surface mining). ... 1907 (MCMVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Wednesday of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... Marie Stopes (October 15, 1880 - October 2, 1958) was a Scottish author, campaigner for womens rights and pioneer in the field of family planning. ... MSC can stand for: Marine Stewardship Council Masters of Science (usually MSc or M.Sc. ... 1909 (MCMIX) was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ...

After his MSc, Watson continued to develop his wide interest in fossils and studied intensively at the British Museum of Natural History in London, and on extended visits to South Africa, Australia, and the United States. In 1912 he was appointed as a Lecturer in Vertebrate Palaeontology, at University College London by Professor James Peter Hill. The Natural History Museum from the south east The Natural History Museum, one of three large museums on Exhibition Road, Kensington, London (the others are the Science Museum and the Victoria and Albert Museum), is home to life and earth science collections comprising some 70 million items. ... London (pronounced ) is the capital city of England and of the United Kingdom. ... 1912 (MCMXII) was a leap year starting on Monday in the Gregorian calendar (or a leap year starting on Tuesday in the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ...

His academic work was eventually interrupted in 1916 by the Great War when he took a commission in the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve. He was later transferred to the nascent Royal Air Force where he worked on balloon and airship fabric design. 1916 (MCMXVI) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ... Ypres, 1917, in the vicinity of the Battle of Passchendaele. ... The Royal Naval Reserve (RNR) is the volunteer reserve force of the Royal Navy in the United Kingdom. ... The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the air force branch of the British Armed Forces. ... Balloons, like greeting cards or flowers, are given for special occasions. ... USS Akron (ZRS-4) in flight, November 2, 1931 An airship is a buoyant aircraft that can be steered and propelled through the air. ...

Marriage and children

Watson was married during the Great War in 1917 to Katharine Margarite Parker, and had two daughters, Katharine Mary and Janet Vida. 1917 (MCMXVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Tuesday of the 13-day slower Julian calendar. ...

Professor of Zoology and Comparative Anatomy

After the Great War, Watson returned to academic study and in 1921 he succeeded Hill as the Jodrell Professor of Zoology and Comparative Anatomy, at UCL. He devoted his energy to the development of the Zoology department at UCL, and consolidated his respected position in the academic establishment. In 1922 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society, where he gave the Croonian Lecture in 1924. Four years later, he was invited to give the Romanes Lecture in Oxford; he spoke on "Paleontology and the Evolution of Man". 1921 (MCMXXI) was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... 1922 (MCMXXII) was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... The Fellowship of the Royal Society was founded in 1660. ... The Croonian Lecture is a prestigous lectureship given at the invitation of the Royal Society or the Royal College of Physicians. ... 1924 (MCMXXIV) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... The Romanes Lecture is a prestigious free public lecture given annually at the Sheldonian Theatre, Oxford. ... The University of Oxford (often called Oxford University), located in the city of Oxford, England, is the oldest university in the English-speaking world. ...

He was appointed to the British Government's Agricultural Research Council in 1931, which involved spending time in the United States where he lectured at Yale University in 1937. At the outbreak of the Second World War he returned to Britain to supervise the evacuation of the UCL Zoology department to Bangor in Wales, and then became Secretary of the Scientific Subcommittee of the Food Policy Committee of the War Cabinet. 1931 (MCMXXXI) was a common year starting on Thursday (link is to a full 1931 calendar). ... Yale redirects here. ... 1937 (MCMXXXVII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... Mushroom cloud from the nuclear explosion over Nagasaki rising 18 km into the air. ... Bangor, in north Wales, is one of the smallest cities in the United Kingdom. ... Motto: (Welsh for Wales for ever) Anthem: Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau Capital Cardiff Largest city Cardiff Official language(s) English, Welsh Government Constitutional monarchy - Queen Queen Elizabeth II - Prime Minister Tony Blair MP - First Minister Rhodri Morgan AM Unification - by Gruffudd ap Llywelyn 1056 Area - Total 20,779 kmÂ² (3rd... A War Cabinet is committee formed by a government in time of war. ...

After the war he continued to teach, and to travel widely. He received many awards and academic honours including the Darwin Medal from the Royal Society, the Linnean Medal from the Linnean Society, the Wollaston Medal from the Geological Society of London, and honorary degrees from many univerisities in Britain and elsewhere. Watson retired from his chair in 1951, but continued to study and publish at UCL until his full retirement in 1965. The Darwin Medal is given by the Royal Society on even years to a biologist or a husband and wife team of biologists. ... The premises of the Royal Society in London (first four properties only). ... The Linnean Medal (formerly referred to as the Gold Medal) of the Linnean Society of London was established in 1888, and is awarded annually to alternately a botanist or a zoologist or (as has been common since 1958) to one of each in the same year. ... The Linnean Society of London is the worlds premier society for the study and dissemination about taxonomy. ... The Wollaston Medal is a scientific award for geology, the highest award granted by the Geological Society of London. ... The Geological Society of London is a learned society based in England with the aim of investigating the mineral structure of the Earth. It is the oldest national geological society in the world and the largest in Europe with over 9000 Fellows entitled to the postnominal FGS - over 2000 of... 1951 (MCMLI) was a common year starting on Monday; see its calendar. ... 1965 (MCMLXV) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1965 calendar). ...

His scientific research, besides his early original work on fossil plants, was chiefly concerned with vertebrate palaeontology, especially fossil reptiles. He amassed a large collection of fossils from his wide travels.

Published works

The Romanes Lecture is a prestigious free public lecture given annually at the Sheldonian Theatre, Oxford. ... Yale redirects here. ... The Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, or , is the oldest scientific journal printed in the English-speaking world, and was only three months shy of being the oldest in the world. ...

References

Contents

Biography

Early life

Marriage and children

Professor of Zoology and Comparative Anatomy

Published works

References

See also

Contents

Biography GA_googleFillSlot("encyclopedia_square");

Early life

Marriage and children

Professor of Zoology and Comparative Anatomy

Published works

References

See also

Biography