Dr Donald Martin Webley

FRSE Fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE) is an award granted to individuals that the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Scotland's national academy of science and letters, judged to be "eminently distinguished in their subject". This soci ...

FIB (1916–1990) was a 20th-century British

microbiologist A microbiologist (from Ancient Greek, Greek ) is a scientist who studies microscopic life forms and processes. This includes study of the growth, interactions and characteristics of Microorganism, microscopic organisms such as bacteria, algae, f ...

. In authorship he is usually known as D. M. Webley.

Life

He was born in

Merthyr Tydfil Merthyr Tydfil (; cy, Merthyr Tudful ) is the main town in Merthyr Tydfil County Borough, Wales, administered by Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council. It is about north of Cardiff. Often called just Merthyr, it is said to be named after Tydf ...

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

on 24 January 1916, the son of Ernest Stanley Webley and his wife, Nellie May. He was educated there then studied Science at the

University of Wales The University of Wales (Welsh language, Welsh: ''Prifysgol Cymru'') is a confederal university based in Cardiff, Wales. Founded by royal charter in 1893 as a federal university with three constituent colleges – Aberystwyth, Bangor and Cardiff � ...

graduating BSc in 1937. Continuing as a postgraduate he gained an MSc then a doctorate (PhD) in 1941. From 1945 to 1975 he was Head of the Macaulay Institute for Soil Research in

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...

In 1968 he was elected a Fellow 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 ...

. His proposers were John Bacon,

James Shewan James Shewan (6 January 1848 - 7 May 1914) was a Scottish-American businessman who made his fortune in real estate in the United States. He was the founder of the largest dry dock and ship repairing facility in the Port of New York and New Jers ...

Percy Wragg Brian Percy Wragg Brian FRS FRSE CBE (5 September 1910 – 17 August 1979) was a British botanist and mycologist. He was critical to the development of plant pathology and natural antibiotics such as Gibberellin and Griseofulvin. Life He was born in ...

and

Alexander Boyd Stewart Prof Alexander Boyd Stewart CBE FRSE FRIC (1904–1981) was a 20th century Scottish organic chemist and agriculturalist. He was President of the British Society of Soil Science. Life He was born on 3 November 1904 at Tarland in Aberdeenshire, ...

. He died at

Sutton Coldfield Sutton Coldfield or the Royal Town of Sutton Coldfield, known locally as Sutton ( ), is a town and civil parish in the City of Birmingham, West Midlands, England. The town lies around 8 miles northeast of Birmingham city centre, 9 miles south ...

on 25 August 1990.

Family

In 1947 he married Evelyn Rosa.

Publications

*''The Microbiology of Composting'' (2 vols) (1947 and 1948) *''A Convenient Shaking N=Machine for Growing Micro Organisms'' (1955) *''The Microbiology of Rocks and Weathered Stones'' (1963)

References

1916 births 1990 deaths British microbiologists People from Merthyr Tydfil Alumni of the University of Wales Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh {{UK-bio-stub