Dennis John Carr

Dennis John Carr , also Denis John Carr (born December 15, 1915 in Stoke-on-Trent , England , † July 19, 2008 in Canberra , Australia ), was a British- Australian botanist . Its botanical author abbreviation is " DJCarr ".

Early years

Dennis John Carr was born the sixth child of James Edward Carr and his wife, Elizabeth Carr (née Brindley) . He attended schools in Stoke-on-Trent.

After graduating from high school, he started working as an office worker at the local electricity company, Stoke Municipal Electricity Supply Corporation . He studied part-time science at North Staffordshire Technical College to obtain a Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) from the University of London .

Military service

In 1940 Carr was drafted into the Royal Air Force . During the first years of the war he served as an aircraft fitter and instructor. In 1942 he was transferred to the Service Command Unit 3226, which was used when the Allied troops landed in Sicily , south of Syracuse and in Italy near Salerno .

Education

In 1945 he returned to the United Kingdom and initially took up work at his previous employer in Stoke-on-Trent. Soon, however, he began studying botany at Manchester University . In 1948 he completed this and took a position as an assistant in the botanical faculty. In 1952 he received a doctorate in philosophy (Ph.D.).

Working life

Carr started in 1953 as a senior assistant at the Department of Botany at Melbourne University and moved to Australia.

In 1959 he followed a call as professor of botany at Queen's University Belfast in Northern Ireland , where he moved with his wife.

At the beginning of 1968, Carr was appointed to the newly founded University of Canberra (then: Australian National University) and built up a department for developmental and cell biology in the Research School of Biological Sciences (RSBS). Together with his wife he made a name for himself through his work on the biology and taxonomy of the eucalyptus . In 1970 they described the new species Eucalyptus roycei SGM Carr, DJCarr & ASGeorge.

In 1979, Carr became the university's executive vice chancellor. In 1980, at the age of 65, he retired, but continued his studies for many years.

With his wife, Carr published many books and articles in botanical journals.

Family life

On February 9, 1955 , Dennis John Carr married Stella Grace Maisie Fawcett , a colleague who also lectured at Melbourne University.

Late years and death

Carr continued his botanical studies as a professor emeritus, first from an office in the university and later from home. After the death of his wife in 1988, he pursued other interests in addition to botany in various areas of natural sciences, philosophy, administration, literature and foreign languages, e.g. B. German, Italian, French and Latin.

Dennis John Carr passed away in Canberra on July 19, 2008 at the age of 92.

Works (selection)

• People and Plants in Australia . Academic Press, Sydney 1981
• Plants and Man in Australia . Academic Press, Sydney 1981
• Eucalyptus I .
• Eucalyptus II. The rubber cuticle and other studies of the Corymbosae . Phytograph Press, Canberra 1987
• A Book for Maisie: Celebrating the Life and Work of SGM Carr, née Fawcett, Pioneer Australian Alpine Ecologist, 1912-88 . Canberra 2005

swell

• Biography: Carr, Denis John (1915-2008) . Council of Heads of Australasian Herbaria. Australian National Herbarium with photo
• Biographical Entry: Carr, Denis John (1915-2008) . Encyclopedia of Australian Science 2010