Alan John "Jock" Marshall (17 February 1911 – 20 July 1967) was an Australian

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academic An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary education, secondary or tertiary education, tertiary higher education, higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membershi ...

and

ornithologist Ornithology is a branch of zoology that concerns the "methodological study and consequent knowledge of birds with all that relates to them." Several aspects of ornithology differ from related disciplines, due partly to the high visibility and th ...

. Marshall was born in

Redfern, New South Wales Redfern is an inner-city suburb of Sydney located 3 kilometres south of the Sydney central business district and is part of the local government area of the City of Sydney. Strawberry Hills is a locality on the border with Surry Hills. The area ...

. Despite having lost an arm in a shooting accident at the age of sixteen, he was active in several natural history expeditions, and had a distinguished service record during World War II in New Guinea, 1941–1945. He was

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zoology 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, animal kingdom, including the anatomy, structure, embryology, evolution, Biological clas ...

and comparative

anatomy Anatomy () is the branch of biology concerned with the study of the structure of organisms and their parts. Anatomy is a branch of natural science that deals with the structural organization of living things. It is an old science, having its ...

St Bartholomew's Medical College Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry, commonly known as Barts or BL, is a medical school, medical and dental school in London, England. The school is part of Queen Mary University of London, a constituent college of the federal Un ...

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

, 1949–1960, and foundation professor of zoology and comparative

physiology Physiology (; ) is the scientific study of functions and mechanisms in a living system. As a sub-discipline of biology, physiology focuses on how organisms, organ systems, individual organs, cells, and biomolecules carry out the chemical ...

, then Dean of Science, at

Monash University Monash University () is a public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Named for prominent World War I general Sir John Monash, it was founded in 1958 and is the second oldest university in the state. The university has a ...

1960–1967. He will be remembered by older generations of radio listeners as "Jock the Backyard Naturalist", a regular on the

Argonauts Club ''The Argonauts Club'' was an Australian children's radio program, first broadcast in 1933 on ABC Radio Melbourne. Its format was devised by Nina Murdoch who had run the station's Children's Hour as "Pat". The show was discontinued in 1934 when Ni ...

until 1946. Marshall died in

Heidelberg, Victoria Heidelberg is a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, northeast of Melbourne's central business district, located within the City of Banyule local government area. Heidelberg recorded a population of 7,360 at the 2021 census. Once a large ...

. During his lifetime, he published numerous books and scientific papers and had been awarded the

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in 1948.British Museum
/ref> He was elected a

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of the

Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union The Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union (RAOU), now part of BirdLife Australia, was Australia's largest non-government, non-profit, bird conservation organisation. It was founded in 1901 to promote the study and bird conservation, conservati ...

in 1958.

Publications

*Marshall, Alan John. (1937). ''The Black Musketeers. The Work and Adventures of a Scientist on a South Sea Island at War and in Peace''. William Heinemann: London. *Marshall, Alan John. (1938). ''The Men and Birds of Paradise. Journeys through Equatorial New Guinea''. William Heinemann: London. *Marshall, Alan John. (1942). ''Australia Limited''. Angus & Robertson: Sydney. *Marshall, Alan John. (1954). ''Bower-birds, their displays and breeding cycles. A preliminary statement''. Clarendon Press: Oxford, U.K. *Marshall, Alan John. (1970). ''Darwin and Huxley in Australia''. Hodder & Stoughton: Sydney. *Marshall, Alan John. (Ed). (1966). ''The Great Extermination. A guide to Anglo-Australian Cupidity, Wickedness and Waste''. Heinemann: Melbourne. *Marshall, Alan John; & Drysdale, Russell. (1966). ''Journey Among Men''. Sun Books: Melbourne.

References

*Robin, Libby. (2001). ''The Flight of the Emu: a hundred years of Australian ornithology 1901-2001''. Carlton, Vic. Melbourne University Press.

External links

Jock Marshall: One Armed Warrior- Bright Sparcs Exhibition
{{DEFAULTSORT:Marshall, Alan John Australian ornithologists Australian military personnel of World War II 1911 births 1967 deaths Alumni of the Medical College of St Bartholomew's Hospital Australian science writers 20th-century Australian zoologists