Lance Richdale
New Zealand teacher and amateur ornithologist (1900–1983)
Lance Richdale
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Born |
Lancelot Eric Richdale
( 1900-01-04 ) 4 January 1900
Marton
, New Zealand
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Died |
19 December 1983
(1983-12-19)
(aged
83)
Auckland
, New Zealand
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Alma mater | University of Otago |
Occupations |
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Scientific career | |
Thesis | A history of agricultural education in New Zealand (1935) |
Lancelot Eric Richdale OBE (4 January 1900 – 19 December 1983) was a New Zealand teacher and amateur ornithologist .
Biography
Born at Marton, New Zealand and educated in Wanganui , Richdale became a teacher based in Dunedin after obtaining a diploma in 1922 from Hawkesbury Agricultural College near Sydney, Australia. [1]
Richdale's main ornithological interest was in seabirds, especially penguins and petrels , and he was engaged in long-term studies of various species for most of his life. He was the driving force to gain protection for the colony of northern royal albatrosses at Taiaroa Head , Otago , after discovering the first successful fledgling there in 1938. [2] Richdale completed a Master's degree at the University of Otago in 1935, with a thesis on the history of agricultural education in New Zealand. [3] Although his fieldwork was carried out in southern New Zealand, he spent some time studying overseas, as a Fulbright Fellow at Cornell University (1950–1951), as a Nuffield Research Fellow at the Edward Grey Institute for Bird Research (1952–1955) and, after retirement, again as a Nuffield Fellow, at the Zoological Society of London (1960–1963).
He was a member of the Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union (RAOU) and contributed numerous papers to its journal, the Emu as well as to several other scientific journals. He produced a series of popular booklets about New Zealand birds as well as a series of biological monographs to publish the results of his research. In addition, he authored two major books, Sexual Behavior in Penguins (University of Kansas Press, 1951), and A Population Study of Penguins (Clarendon Press, 1957).
His publications earned him a DSc from the University of New Zealand in 1952, and in 1953 he was awarded the Hector Memorial Medal by the Royal Society of New Zealand . He was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire , for services to ornithology, in the 1982 Queen's Birthday Honours . [4]
Richdale died in Auckland in 1983.
References
- ↑ Robertson, Christopher. "Richdale, Lancelot Eric – Biography" . Dictionary of New Zealand Biography . Ministry for Culture and Heritage . Retrieved 5 May 2013 .
- ↑ "Albatross colony marking 70 years" . Otago Daily Times. 28 August 2008 . Retrieved 30 August 2008 .
- ↑ Richdale, Lancelot (1935). A history of agricultural education in New Zealand (Masters thesis). OUR Archive, University of Otago. hdl : 10523/9060 .
- ↑ "No. 49010" . The London Gazette (3rd supplement). 12 June 1982. p. 40.
- Fleming, Charles; & Warham, John. (1985). Launcelot Eric Richdale, OBE, (1900-1983). Emu 85: 53–54.
- Peat, Neville (2011). Seabird Genius: The Story of L.E. Richdale, the Royal Albatross, and the Yellow-eyed Penguin . Otago University Press.
External links
- Sexual Behavior in Penguins (University of Kansas Press, 1951). 316 p. illus., map. 24 cm. Bibliography. Open access full-text PDF file.
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