Ian Thornton

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Ian Walter Boothroyd Thornton (born July 14, 1926 in Halifax , West Yorkshire , England ; † October 1, 2002 in Bangkok , Thailand ) was an Australian biologist of British origin. His research interests were the entomology and the ecosystems of islands.

Life

Thornton was the son of John and Alice Mary Thornton, née Crabtree. His father died in 1936 at the age of 41, his mother was a school teacher. In 1944 he joined the British Army , where he served as an officer in the Yorkshire Light Infantry and was a parachutist with the 716 Parachute Brigade Company. In 1948 he finished military service with the rank of lieutenant.

In 1951 Thornton graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree with honors, and in 1953 he received a Ph.D. from the University of Leeds. PhD. In 1984 he was appointed Doctor of Science.

From 1953 to 1956 Thornton was a lecturer in zoology at Gordon Memorial College in Khartoum , Sudan. From 1956 to 1963 he was senior lecturer and from 1963 to 1967 associate professor at the University of Hong Kong . From 1960 to 1963 he was the Dean of the Faculty of Science at the University of Hong Kong. In 1963 he was visiting professor at the East-West Center of the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa . In 1968 Thornton moved to Australia. From 1970 to 1972, 1979 to 1981 and 1985 to 1987 he was Dean of the School of Biological Sciences at La Trobe University , Bundoora, Melbourne , Australia. From 1968 to 1992 he was Professor of Zoology at La Trobe University. In 1992 he retired as professor emeritus .

Thornton's main interests were entomology, particularly the insect order Psocoptera , of which he described nearly 750 species, and the biogeography of islands in the Pacific region. He also led expeditions to Hong Kong, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, New Zealand, Chile and the Juan Fernández Islands as well as to the Galapagos Islands.

Thornton was married twice. The first time in 1948 and the second time in 1980. He had two children and three stepchildren.

Awards and dedication names

In 1993 Thornton received the John Lewis Gold Medal from the Royal Geographical Society of Australasia . In 1995 he became a member of the Australian Academy of Science . In 1975, the Australian entomologist Tim R. New named the East African dust louse species Trichadenotecnum thorntoni in honor of Ian Thornton. He is also honored with the generic names Ianthorntonia , Thorntonodes and Thorntoniella .

Fonts (selection)

  • 1971: Darwin's Islands: A Natural History of the Galapagos, Doubleday (New York)
  • 1982: Insects of Hong Kong, Hong Kong University Press (Hong Kong)
  • 1996: Krakatau: The Destruction and Reassembly of an Island Ecosystem, Harvard University Press (Cambridge, MA)

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Tim R. New, CN Smithers and AT Marshall: Biography at the Australian Academy of Science.Retrieved January 5, 2017
  2. ↑ a b c d e Ian Thornton. In: Contemporary Authors Online, Gale, 2016. Biography in Context, Online. Retrieved January 5, 2017.
  3. ↑ Tim R. New: New species and records of Psocidae (Psocoptera) from Kenya. Journal of Natural History 9, 1975: 535-544.
personal data
SURNAME Thornton, Ian
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Thornton, Ian Walter Boothroyd (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Australian biology of British origin
DATE OF BIRTH July 14, 1926
PLACE OF BIRTH Halifax , West Yorkshire , England
DATE OF DEATH October 1, 2002
Place of death Bangkok , Thailand