John L. Cloudsley-Thompson

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John Leonard Cloudsley-Thompson (born May 23, 1921 in Murree , British India , now Pakistan ; died October 4, 2013 ) was a British World War II veteran , zoologist and university professor.

Life

youth

John Thompson was born in Murree to a British doctor and received his education at Marlborough College in the English county of Wiltshire . He then participated in the Pembroke College of Cambridge University to study natural sciences.

Second World War

Thompson's studies were interrupted by the start of World War II. In September 1939 he volunteered at a training unit in Reading , Berkshire . After his father, head of he health care in London for some time Metropolitan Borough of Lambeth , in setting up field hospitals supported, Thompson signed up again as a volunteer for the Royal Tank Regiment . Until he was called up, he served with the Local Defense Volunteers , later the British Home Guard .

In 1941 Thompson was called up and completed an officer training at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst . After brief service in various units, he was assigned to the 7th Armored Division and took part in Operation Crusader from November 1941 . In May 1942, Thompson was in command of a Crusader main battle tank , which was destroyed in the defense of the Knightsbridge Box supply hub east of Tobruk . The crew was killed or captured, only Thompson escaped with severe leg injuries. He was first cared for in a field hospital in Tobruk, transported by train to a military hospital in Cairo for treatment, and eventually returned to Great Britain to recover. Thompson lived with the consequences of his wounding. More importantly, his interest in desert fauna was sparked by the fact that he and his comrades kept scorpions, spiders, and other desert animals to pass the time.

In Great Britain, Thompson became an armored artillery instructor at Sandhurst Military Academy. In 1944 he married Anne Cloudsley and called himself John Cloudsley-Thompson from then on. Thompson returned to his armored unit in good time before the Allies landed as part of Operation Neptune . On June 13, 1944, his tank column was attacked by a German battle tank under the command of Michael Wittmann in the Battle of Villers-Bocage . Thompson's Cromwell battle tank was destroyed in the process, and the crew saved themselves. In July 1944, Thompson took part in Operation Goodwood near Caen .

zoologist

After the war, Cloudsley-Thompson returned to Cambridge University to finish his studies. He holds a Masters and PhD in zoology and has been a lecturer at King's College , London. Due to his interest in the ecology of the desert, which he gained during his military service in North Africa, he went to the University of Khartoum as a professor in 1960 and became curator of its affiliated natural history museum.

From 1969 to 1972, Cloudsley-Thompson was visiting professor at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque , New Mexico . In 1972 he returned to London to a professor at Birkbeck College of the University of London to teach. In 1986 he retired, but continued his research and publication activities until the end of his life. Cloudsley-Thompson has written numerous publications on the ecology of desert fauna, particularly on spiders and scorpions. He is the author or editor of more than 50 scientific and popular science books, founder of the Journal of Arid Environments and editor of the book series Adaptations of Desert Organisms .

Cloudsley-Thompson was a member of numerous learned societies , including the Royal Society of Biology , the Royal Entomological Society , the British Arachnological Society and the Zoological Society of London . From 1974 to 1983 he was chairman of the British Naturalists' Association. He has been an honorary member of the Linnean Society of London since 1997 . In 1981 he was awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of Khartoum.

Cloudsley-Thompson died in October 2013, a year after his wife Anne. He left three sons.

Dedication names (selection)

Initial descriptions (selection)

Publications (selection)

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e Stephen Moss: John Cloudsley-Thompson obituary . In: The Guardian , November 3, 2012, accessed January 6, 2018.
  2. ↑ a b c Second World War Experience Center website, Captain John Cloudsley-Thompson ( November 5, 2013 memento in the Internet Archive ), accessed January 6, 2018.
  3. ^ A b c d Wilson R. Lourenço: In Memoriam John L. Cloudsley-Thompson - 1921-2013. A leading biologist . In: Revista Ibérica de Aracnología 2013, Volume 23, pp. 153–154, Online PDFhttp: //vorlage_digitalisat.test/1%3Dhttp%3A%2F%2Fsea-entomologia.org%2FPDF%2FRIA23%2F153154RIA23InmemoriamJCT.pdf~GB%3D~IA%3D~MDZ%3D%0A~SZ%3D~ double-sided 3D ~ LT% 3DOnline% 20PDF ~ PUR% 3D , 591 kB.
  4. ↑ Professor John Cloudsley-Thompson - obituary . In: The Daily Telegraph , November 4, 2012, accessed January 6, 2018.
personal data
SURNAME Cloudsley-Thompson, John L.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Thompson, John (maiden name); Cloudsley-Thompson, John Leonard (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British zoologist and university professor
DATE OF BIRTH May 23, 1921
PLACE OF BIRTH Murree , British India
DATE OF DEATH 4th October 2013