David William Goodall (4 April 1914 – 10 May 2018) was an English-born Australian
botanist
Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek wo ...
and ecologist. He was influential in the early development of statistical methods in plant communities. He worked as researcher and professor in England, Australia, Ghana and the United States. He was editor-in-chief of the 30-volume ''Ecosystems of the World'' series of books, and author of over 100 publications.
He was known as Australia's oldest working scientist, still editing ecology papers at age 103. Long an advocate of
voluntary euthanasia
Voluntary euthanasia (VE) is the ending of a person's life at their request in order to relieve them of suffering. Voluntary euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide (PAS) have been the focus of intense debate in recent years.
Some forms of ...
legalisation, he ended his own life in Switzerland via
physician-assisted suicide
Assisted suicide is suicide undertaken with the aid of another person. The term usually refers to physician-assisted suicide (PAS), which is suicide that is assisted by a physician or other healthcare provider. Once it is determined that the p ...
at age 104.
Early life and education
Goodall was born in
Edmonton
Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...
,
Middlesex
Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, historic county in South East England, southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the Ceremonial counties of ...
(now London), England on 4 April 1914 to parents Isabel Blanche (née Harlow) and Henry William Goodall.
He was educated at
Stationers' Company's School
The Stationers' Company's School was a former boys' grammar school, then a comprehensive school in Hornsey, north London.
History
The school started as the Stationers' Company's Foundation School. The Master from 1858 to 1882 was Alexander Kenne ...
and
St Paul's School, London
(''By Faith and By Learning'')
, established =
, closed =
, type = Independent school Public school
, religion = Church of England
, president =
, he ...
, where an interest in chemistry later turned to biology.
Goodall completed his Bachelor of Science degree in 1935 followed by a Doctor of Philosophy degree in 1941, both at the
Imperial College of Science and Technology
Imperial College London (legally Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom. Its history began with Prince Albert, consort of Queen Victoria, who developed his vision for a cu ...
, where he was mentored by
F. G. Gregory.
His PhD research was conducted at
East Malling Research Station
NIAB EMR is a horticultural and agricultural research institute at East Malling, Kent in England, with a specialism in fruit and clonally propagated crop production. In 2016, the institute became part of the National Institute of Agricultural ...
in Kent on
assimilation
Assimilation may refer to:
Culture
*Cultural assimilation, the process whereby a minority group gradually adapts to the customs and attitudes of the prevailing culture and customs
**Language shift, also known as language assimilation, the progre ...
in the tomato plant.
Goodall stated that he was not allowed to join the armed forces during World War II while undertaking his doctorate. He underwent a medical examination for the
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...
, but as soon his boss heard of this he refused to release any of his researchers, claiming they were "much more important to the world of agriculture than the war effort".
Research and career
In 1948, Goodall moved to Australia to become senior lecturer of
botany
Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek w ...
at the
University of Melbourne
The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb nor ...
. From 1952 to 1954, he served as
reader
A reader is a person who reads. It may also refer to:
Computing and technology
* Adobe Reader (now Adobe Acrobat), a PDF reader
* Bible Reader for Palm, a discontinued PDA application
* A card reader, for extracting data from various forms of ...
in botany at the then
University College of the Gold Coast (now University of Ghana) where he worked in the cocoa industry. He received a
Doctor of Science
Doctor of Science ( la, links=no, Scientiae Doctor), usually abbreviated Sc.D., D.Sc., S.D., or D.S., is an academic research degree awarded in a number of countries throughout the world. In some countries, "Doctor of Science" is the degree used f ...
degree from the University of Melbourne in 1953. He then returned to England to take a position as professor of
agricultural botany
Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...
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 ...
, which he held from 1954 to 1956. From 1956 to 1967, he was a research scientist at various
Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) divisions in Australia. He then moved to the United States, serving as professor of biology at the
University of California, Irvine
The University of California, Irvine (UCI or UC Irvine) is a public land-grant research university in Irvine, California. One of the ten campuses of the University of California system, UCI offers 87 undergraduate degrees and 129 graduate and pr ...
, from 1967 to 1968, and professor of
systems ecology
Systems ecology is an interdisciplinary field of ecology, a subset of Earth system science, that takes a holism, holistic approach to the study of ecological systems, especially ecosystems. Systems ecology can be seen as an application of general ...
at
Utah State University
Utah State University (USU or Utah State) is a public land-grant research university in Logan, Utah. It is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. With nearly 20,000 students living on or near campus, USU is Utah's ...
from 1968 to 1974. He then returned to Australia and was again affiliated with CSIRO until his formal retirement in 1979.
After retiring, Goodall continued with CSIRO until 1998 as an Honorary Research Fellow in the Division of Wildlife and Ecology, and in 1998 became Honorary Research Associate at the Centre for Ecosystem Management at
Edith Cowan University
Edith Cowan University (ECU) is a public university in Western Australia. It is named in honour of the first woman to be elected to an Parliaments of the Australian states and territories, Australian parliament, Edith Cowan, and is the only Aust ...
.
Over the course of his career Goodall supervised four doctoral and ten masters students, and even into retirement served on the editorial boards of several scientific journals, including ''
Vegetatio
''Plant Ecology'' is a scientific journal on plant ecology, formerly known as ''Vegetatio'', a journal whose editors resigned in protest of high pricing. The journal publishes original scientific papers on the ecology of vascular plants and terres ...
'' and ''
Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics
The ''Annual Review of Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics'' is an annual scientific journal published by Annual Reviews. The journal was established in 1970 as the ''Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics'' and changed its name beginning in 200 ...
.''
Goodall was known for his contributions to
plant physiology
Plant physiology is a subdiscipline of botany concerned with the functioning, or physiology, of plants. Closely related fields include plant morphology (structure of plants), plant ecology (interactions with the environment), phytochemistry (bi ...
and ecological statistical analysis. Botanist
David Ashton David Ashton may refer to:
* David Ashton (botanist) (1927–2005), Australian botanist and ecologist
* David Ashton (actor)
David Ashton (born David Scott on 10 November 1941, in Greenock, Scotland) is a Scottish actor and writer. Trained a ...
credits him with providing "enormous stimulus" to research in nutritional physiology following World War II.
With a series of papers in the 1950s and 1960s titled "Objective Methods for the Classification of Vegetation" he helped turn plant ecology from a descriptive, subjective science into one more quantitative and repeatable.
1954 he was the first to apply factor analysis to
community ecology
In ecology, a community is a group or association of populations of two or more different species occupying the same geographical area at the same time, also known as a biocoenosis, biotic community, biological community, ecological community, ...
, a process he termed
ordination
Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorization, authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominational ...
, which is now a widely used term in ecological literature.
In the late 1960s he co-founded and was director of the Desert Biome project of the
International Biological Program
The International Biological Program (IBP) was an effort between 1964 and 1974 to coordinate large-scale ecological and environmental studies. Organized in the wake of the successful International Geophysical Year (IGY) of 1957-1958, the Internat ...
, where he organised simulation modeling of processes such as desertification and
overgrazing
Overgrazing occurs when plants are exposed to intensive grazing for extended periods of time, or without sufficient recovery periods. It can be caused by either livestock in poorly managed agricultural applications, game reserves, or nature res ...
on arid lands.
In 2016, Edith Cowan University declared Goodall, now 102, unfit to travel to his old office on the university's campus,
proposed he work from home instead, and allowed him to attend only pre-arranged meetings at the university.
Goodall stated that he enjoyed talking to colleagues in his office corridor and that he had few social contacts elsewhere in Perth. His daughter warned that the move would have a dramatic impact on his sense of independence and mental well-being and stated "I do not know whether he would survive it".
This decision caused an uproar, and the university compromised by relocating him to a new office at its Mount Lawley campus, significantly closer to his home.
In December 2016, Goodall was still active at Edith Cowan University
and editor-in-chief of the series ''Ecosystems of the World''. At that time, he was thought to be the oldest scientist still working in Australia.
Goodall served as editor-in-chief of the 30-volume ''Ecosystems of the World'' from its inception in 1972, until its completion in 2005. At age 103, Goodall was still active in his field, editing ecology papers.
Awards and honours
Goodall was promoted to
doctor honoris causa
An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hon ...
at the
University of Trieste
The University of Trieste ( it, Università degli Studi di Trieste, or UniTS) is a public research university in Trieste in the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region in northeast Italy. The university consists of 10 departments, boasts a wide and almos ...
, Italy, in 1990.
He was a member of 14 learned societies, and received the Distinguished Statistical Ecologist Award from the International Association for Ecology in 1994, and the Gold Medal of the Australian Ecological Society in 2008.
In 1997 he was made an Honorary Member of the
International Association for Vegetation Science
The International Association for Vegetation Science (IAVS) promotes contact between scientists and others interested in the study of vegetation ecology, promotes research and publication of research results. In 1939 the International Phytosocio ...
(IAVS), the organization's highest award. Goodall
turned 100 in 2014, and that year a book of scientific papers organised by the IAVS was dedicated to him. The following year, Goodall was honoured in a special issue of the journal ''
Plant Ecology
Plant ecology is a subdiscipline of ecology which studies the distribution and abundance of plants, the effects of environmental factors upon the abundance of plants, and the interactions among and between plants and other organisms. Examples o ...
''.
In the
2016 Australia Day Honours
The 2016 Australia Day Honours were announced on 26 January 2016 by the Governor General of Australia, Sir Peter Cosgrove.
The Australia Day Honours are the first of the two major annual honours lists, announced on Australia Day (26 January), wit ...
list Goodall was made a
Member of the Order of Australia
The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...
for "significant service to science as an academic, researcher and author in the area of plant ecology and natural resources management."
Personal life
Goodall was married three times and had four children and 12 grandchildren. When asked why he thought he had managed to reach such a great age, he noted that "genetics helps" but urged "to keep alive, keep active."
He played tennis up until the age of 90, and was an amateur poet and actor, performing with a Perth theatre group.
Death
Goodall advocated for the legalisation of voluntary euthanasia
Voluntary euthanasia (VE) is the ending of a person's life at their request in order to relieve them of suffering. Voluntary euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide (PAS) have been the focus of intense debate in recent years.
Some forms of ...
, being a member of assisted dying advocacy group Exit International
Exit International is an international non-profit organisation advocating legalisation of voluntary euthanasia and assisted suicide. It was previously known as the ''Voluntary Euthanasia Research Foundation'' (VERF Inc.).
Exit International ...
for over twenty years. His death in 2018, at the age of 104, was an assisted suicide.
Carol O'Neill, a representative from Exit International
Exit International is an international non-profit organisation advocating legalisation of voluntary euthanasia and assisted suicide. It was previously known as the ''Voluntary Euthanasia Research Foundation'' (VERF Inc.).
Exit International ...
, said Goodall's health had affected him greatly. She explained that it came at a time when he was also forced to give up driving and performing in theatre. He just didn't have the same spirit and he was packing up all his books. Goodall's decision to end his life was hastened by a serious fall in his one-room apartment.
He was only found by the cleaner two days later. Doctors called for around-the-clock care, or that he be moved to a nursing home.
On 30 April 2018, Goodall announced his plans to end his own life the following month with the aid of physicians in Switzerland. During the signing of paperwork in the Swiss clinic, David Goodall was questioned about his health and he stated "I'm not ill. I want to die," he insisted.
The business class flight tickets to Europe, for himself and his helpers, were financed by crowdfunding
Crowdfunding is the practice of funding a project or venture by raising money from a large number of people, typically via the internet. Crowdfunding is a form of crowdsourcing and alternative finance. In 2015, over was raised worldwide by crow ...
via the website GoFundMe
GoFundMe is an American for-profit crowdfunding platform that allows people to raise money for events ranging from life events such as celebrations and graduations to challenging circumstances like accidents and illnesses. From 2010 to the b ...
, where 376 donors exceeded the target of A$20,000. He stated, "I don't want to go to Switzerland, though it's a nice country. But I have to do that in order to get the opportunity of suicide which the Australian system does not permit. My feeling is that an old person like myself should have full citizenship rights including the right to assisted suicide."[104-year-old academic David Goodall to travel to Switzerland for voluntary euthanasia](_blank)
Charlotte Hamlyn, ABC News Online
ABC News, or ABC News and Current Affairs, is a public news service produced by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Broadcasting within Australia and the rest of the world, the service covers both local and world affairs.
The division of ...
, 2018-05-01
Goodall travelled first to France to visit family, and then to Liestal
Liestal (, Standard ), formerly spelled Liesthal, is the capital of Liestal District and the canton of Basel-Landschaft in Switzerland, south of Basel.
Liestal is an industrial town with a cobbled-street Old Town.
The official language of Li ...
, Switzerland, where two doctors cleared him to proceed with his assisted suicide
Assisted suicide is suicide undertaken with the aid of another person. The term usually refers to physician-assisted suicide (PAS), which is suicide that is assisted by a physician or other healthcare provider. Once it is determined that the p ...
, although he was not terminally ill. In Switzerland, Exit International organised a press conference during which Goodall answered journalists' questions and sang the first few lines of the fourth movement of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, based on Schiller's poem Ode to Joy
"Ode to Joy" (German language, German: , literally "To heJoy") is an ode written in the summer of 1785 by German poet, playwright, and historian Friedrich Schiller and published the following year in ''Thalia (magazine), Thalia''. A slightl ...
, in German.
Professor David Goodall ended his life on 10 May while listening to Beethoven's Symphony No. 9. Surrounded by his family, Goodall pushed a lever that set in motion the lethal injection of Nembutal
Pentobarbital (previously known as pentobarbitone in Britain and Australia) is a short-acting barbiturate typically used as a sedative, a preanesthetic, and to control convulsions in emergencies. It can also be used for short-term treatment of i ...
. He woke up shortly after a failed attempt to administer the drug and said: "Oh, it's taking rather a long time." After successfully pushing the lever, he then closed his eyes and passed while being in the presence of his family.
References
External links
Official webpage
from Australian National Botanic Gardens
The Australian National Botanic Gardens (ANBG) is a heritage-listed botanical garden located in , Canberra, in the Australian Capital Territory, Australia. Established in 1949, the Gardens is administered by the Australian Government's Departme ...
David W. Goodall
at JSTOR Plant Science
{{DEFAULTSORT:Goodall, David William
1914 births
2018 deaths
2018 suicides
20th-century British botanists
21st-century Australian botanists
Academics of the University of Reading
Alumni of Imperial College London
Australian atheists
Australian centenarians
Australian ecologists
British emigrants to Australia
CSIRO people
Deaths by euthanasia
Edith Cowan University faculty
English atheists
English ecologists
Euthanasia activists
Mathematical ecologists
Members of the Order of Australia
Men centenarians
People educated at St Paul's School, London
People from Edmonton, London
Plant physiologists
Suicides in Switzerland
University of Melbourne alumni
University of Melbourne faculty
Utah State University faculty