Alastair Graham, FRS (6 November 1906 – 12 December 2000) was a Scottish zoologist and academic who specialised in

malacology Malacology is the branch of invertebrate zoology that deals with the study of the Mollusca (mollusks or molluscs), the second-largest phylum of animals in terms of described species after the arthropods. Mollusks include snails and slugs, clams, ...

Biography

He was born in Costorphine, Edinburgh, and schooled at the

Royal High School, Edinburgh The Royal High School (RHS) of Edinburgh is a co-educational school administered by the City of Edinburgh Council. The school was founded in 1128 and is one of the oldest schools in Scotland. It serves 1,200 pupils drawn from four feeder primar ...

, leaving in 1924 as Dux of School. He studied at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

, graduating with an MA in 1927, he continued then transferred to study zoology graduating with a BSc in 1929. After a short period of research at the University he was appointed a lecturer at the

University of Sheffield , mottoeng = To discover the causes of things , established = – University of SheffieldPredecessor institutions: – Sheffield Medical School – Firth College – Sheffield Technical School – University College of Sheffield , type = Pu ...

where he developed his lifelong interest in prosobranch gastropods. After four years in Sheffield he was appointed to a Readership at

Birkbeck College, London , mottoeng = Advice comes over nightTranslation used by Birkbeck. , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £4.3 m (2014) , budget = £10 ...

, becoming Head of Department in 1943 and Professor in 1947. In 1952 he accepted the Chair of Zoology at the

University of Reading The University of Reading is a public university in Reading, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1892 as University College, Reading, a University of Oxford extension college. The institution received the power to grant its own degrees in 192 ...

, where he co-authored a classic monograph, ''British prosobranch molluscs'', with Dr Vera Fretter, which was published in 1962. He became Dean of the Faculty and Deputy Vice-Chancellor, the latter for two terms, before his retirement in 1972. He served as President of the

Malacological Society of London The Malacological Society of London is a British learned society and charitable organisation concerned with malacology, the study of molluscs, a large phylum of invertebrate animals divided into nine or ten taxonomic classes, of which two ar ...

from 1954 to 1957, and as Editor of their Proceedings from 1969 to 1985.

Honours and awards

Graham was awarded a DSc (London) in 1944, the

Keith Medal The Keith Medal was a prize awarded by the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Scotland's national academy, for a scientific paper published in the society's scientific journals, preference being given to a paper containing a discovery, either in mathema ...

of the

Royal Society of Edinburgh The Royal Society of Edinburgh is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity that operates on a wholly independent and non-partisan basis and provides public benefit throughout Scotland. It was established i ...

in 1951, the

Gold Medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have bee ...

of the

Linnean Society of London The Linnean Society of London is a learned society dedicated to the study and dissemination of information concerning natural history, evolution, and taxonomy. It possesses several important biological specimen, manuscript and literature colle ...

in 1968, and the

Frink Medal The Frink Medal for British Zoologists is awarded by the Zoological Society of London "For significant and original contributions by a professional zoologist to the development of zoology." It consists of a bronze plaque (76 by 83 millimetres), de ...

of the

Zoological Society of London The Zoological Society of London (ZSL) is a charity devoted to the worldwide conservation of animals and their habitats. It was founded in 1826. Since 1828, it has maintained the London Zoo, and since 1931 Whipsnade Park. History On 29 ...

in 1975. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1979.

Family life

He had married twice; firstly Gwynneth Hayes, with whom he has two sons and secondly, after her death, Elizabeth Andrews. He died in Berkshire in 2000.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Graham, Alastair 1906 births 2000 deaths Scientists from Edinburgh People educated at the Royal High School, Edinburgh Alumni of the University of Edinburgh 20th-century British zoologists Fellows of the Royal Society British malacologists