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Francis Noble Ratcliffe OBE (11 January 1904 – 8 December 1970) was an Australian
Francis Noble Ratcliffe OBE (11 January 1904 – 8 December 1970) was an Australian zoologist
Zoology ()The pronunciation of zoology as is usually regarded as nonstandard, though it is not uncommon. is the branch of biology that studies the animal kingdom, including the structure, embryology, evolution, classification, habits, and d ...
and conservationist.
Ratcliffe was born a 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, ...
citizen in Calcutta
Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...
, India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
. He was educated at Berkhamsted School
Berkhamsted School is an independent day school in Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire, England. The present school was formed in 1997 by the amalgamation of the original Berkhamsted School, founded in 1541 by John Incent, Dean of St Paul's Cathedral ...
and the University of Oxford
, mottoeng = The Lord is my light
, established =
, endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019)
, budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20)
, chancellor ...
in the United Kingdom, and at Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ...
in the USA. After a short period working in London with the Empire Marketing Board
The Empire Marketing Board was formed in May 1926 by the Colonial Secretary Leo Amery to promote intra-Empire trade and to persuade consumers to 'Buy Empire'. It was established as a substitute for tariff reform and protectionist legislation and ...
, in 1929 he was brought to Australia by the CSIR to study flying-foxes in northern New South Wales
)
, nickname =
, image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, es ...
and Queensland
)
, nickname = Sunshine State
, image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, establishe ...
, afterwards returning to Britain to work in the zoology department at the University of Aberdeen
, mottoeng = The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom
, established =
, type = Public research universityAncient university
, endowment = £58.4 million (2021)
, budget ...
. However, he returned to Australia permanently in 1935, working with the CSIR, and its successor the CSIRO, on such problems as wind erosion
Aeolian processes, also spelled eolian, pertain to wind activity in the study of geology and weather and specifically to the wind's ability to shape the surface of the Earth (or other planets). Winds may erode, transport, and deposit materials ...
, termite
Termites are small insects that live in colonies and have distinct castes (eusocial) and feed on wood or other dead plant matter. Termites comprise the infraorder Isoptera, or alternatively the epifamily Termitoidae, within the order Blatto ...
s and rabbit control. He was also a founder of the Australian Conservation Foundation
The Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF) is Australia's national environmental organisation, launched in 1965 in response to a proposal by the World Wide Fund for Nature for a more co-ordinated approach to sustainability.
One high-profil ...
, serving as its first Honorary Secretary.
Ratcliffe retired from the CSIRO in 1969. He died in Canberra the following year of a cerebral haemorrhage.
Bibliography
As well as various scientific papers and reports, books authored by Ratcliffe include: * 1938 – ''Flying Fox and Drifting Sand: the Adventures of a Biologist in Australia''. Angus and Robertson: Sydney. * 1951 – ''The Rabbit Problem: a Survey of Research Needs and Possibilities''. CSIRO: Melbourne. * 1952 – ''Australian termites: The biology, recognition, and economic importance of the common species''. CSIRO: Melbourne. 1965 (with Frank Fenner) Myxmatosis, Cambridge University Press. 1970 – ''The Commercial Hunting of Kangaroos''. Australian Conservation Foundation: Melbourne.References
* * 20th-century Australian zoologists Australian entomologists Australian conservationists Australian nature writers 1904 births 1970 deaths {{zoologist-stub