Bernard Charles Cotton (2 February 1905 – 3 May 1966) was an Australian

malacologist 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, ...

and museum

curator A curator (from la, cura, meaning "to take care") is a manager or overseer. When working with cultural organizations, a curator is typically a "collections curator" or an "exhibitions curator", and has multifaceted tasks dependent on the parti ...

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

origin.

Life

Cotton was born in

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire a ...

, Yorkshire, where he was educated at Abbeyfield House. He immigrated, with his parents, to

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

in 1923. Within a few months of his arrival he joined the staff of the

South Australian Museum The South Australian Museum is a natural history museum and research institution in Adelaide, South Australia, founded in 1856 and owned by the Government of South Australia. It occupies a complex of buildings on North Terrace in the cultu ...

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

as a cadet to assist the museum's honorary conchologist, Sir Joseph Verco. In 1928 he was appointed Assistant Conchologist and in 1934 became Curator of Molluscs. He retired from the museum in 1962 because of ill health. He died in 1966.

Honours and awards

* Fellow of the

Royal Society of South Australia The Royal Society of South Australia (RSSA) is a learned society whose interest is in science, particularly, but not only, of South Australia. The major aim of the society is the promotion and diffusion of scientific knowledge, particularly in rel ...

(1929) * Australian Natural History Medallion (1950) * Honorary Life Member,

Field Naturalists Society of South Australia The Field Naturalists Society of South Australia Incorporated was founded in 1883 as a section of the Royal Society, and whose aims were to further the cause of the natural sciences in the colony. It was incorporated in 1959 and is still active. Me ...

(1964) * Foundation Patron of the Malacological Society of Australia * Fellow and Honorary Life Member of the

Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales The Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales (RZSNSW) was formed in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia in 1879 as the New South Wales Zoological Society. A Royal Charter was granted in September, 1908, leading to a change to the current name ...

Publications

As well as numerous scientific papers, mainly in the field of Australian malacology, publications authored, co-authored or edited by Cotton include: * Cotton, Bernard; & Godfrey, Frank K. (1938). ''The Molluscs of South Australia. Part I. The Pelecypoda''. Government Printer: Adelaide. * Cotton, Bernard; & Godfrey, Frank K. (1940). ''The Molluscs of South Australia. Part II''. Government Printer: Adelaide. * Cotton, Bernard C.; & Godfrey, Frank K. (1943). ''A systematic list of the Echinodermata, Foraminifera, Hydroida, Brachiopoda of southern Australia''. (Publication no.3). Malacological Society of South Australia. * Cotton, Bernard Charles. (1950). ''Pleistocene Land and Fresh Water Shells of South Australia''. South Australian Museum. * Cotton, Bernard C. (Editor). (1953). ''National Park and Reserves. An Account of the National Park and Reserves situated near Adelaide, South Australia''. Commissioners of the National Park, Adelaide. * Cotton, Bernard C. (1957). ''South Australian Shells''. South Australian Museum. * Cotton, Bernard C. (1959). ''South Australian Mollusca: Archaegastropoda''. (Series: Flora and Fauna of South Australia). South Australian Branch of the British Science Guild. * Cotton, Bernard C. (1961). ''South Australian Mollusca: Pelecypoda''. Government Printer: Adelaide. (Series: Flora and Fauna of South Australia). * Cotton,Bernard C. (1964). ''South Australian Mollusca: Chitons''. (Series: Flora and Fauna of South Australia). South Australian Government: Adelaide. * Cotton, Bernard C. (Editor). (1964). ''South Australian National Park and Reserves''. Commissioners of the National Park and Wildlife Reserves, Adelaide. * Cotton, Bernard C. (Editor). (1966). ''Aboriginal man in South and Central Australia''. Government Printer: Adelaide.

References

1905 births 1966 deaths People from Sheffield English emigrants to Australia Scientists from Adelaide Australian malacologists Australian curators 20th-century Australian zoologists {{Australia-scientist-stub