John Henry Calaby (19 October 1922 – 19 September 1998) was an Australian mammalogist. He was born in the Victoria and died in the

Australian Capital Territory The Australian Capital Territory (commonly abbreviated as ACT), known as the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) until 1938, is a landlocked federal territory of Australia containing the national capital Canberra and some surrounding townships. ...

. Calaby's early career began in the

CSIRO The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) is an Australian Government The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government, is the national government of Australia, a federal parliamentar ...

, engaged in the rabbit control program adapting the

myxoma virus ''Myxoma virus'' is a poxvirus in the genus ''Leporipoxvirus''. The two broad geographic types of ''myxoma virus'' are Californian and South American. Californian ''myxoma virus'' is found on the West Coast of the United States, the Baja Peninsu ...

as a means of eradicating the pest species in Western Australia. His works include co-authorship in the first national survey of Australian mammals, undertaken in the 1960s, a biography of

Walter Baldwin Spencer Sir Walter Baldwin Spencer (23 June 1860 – 14 July 1929), commonly referred to as Baldwin Spencer, was a British-Australian evolutionary biologist, anthropologist and ethnologist. He is known for his fieldwork with Aboriginal peoples in ...

, ''So much that is new'' (1985), and a 200-page volume on the kangaroos in 1969. Calaby's literary works include biographical entries of early naturalists active in Australia, published in the ''

Australian Dictionary of Biography The ''Australian Dictionary of Biography'' (ADB or AuDB) is a national co-operative enterprise founded and maintained by the Australian National University (ANU) to produce authoritative biographical articles on eminent people in Australia's ...

'', these accounts were of

John Edward Gray John Edward Gray, FRS (12 February 1800 – 7 March 1875) was a British zoologist. He was the elder brother of zoologist George Robert Gray and son of the pharmacologist and botanist Samuel Frederick Gray (1766–1828). The same is used for ...

Ludwig Preiss Johann August Ludwig Preiss (21 November 1811 – 21 May 1883) was a German-born British botanist and zoologist. Early life Preiss was born in Herzberg am Harz. He obtained a doctorate, probably at Hamburg, then emigrated to Western Australia. ...

George Shaw George Shaw may refer to: * George Shaw (biologist) (1751–1813), English botanist and zoologist * George B. Shaw (1854–1894), U.S. Representative from Wisconsin * George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950), Irish playwright * George C. Shaw (1866–196 ...

John MacGillivray John MacGillivray (18 December 1821 – 6 June 1867) was a Scottish naturalist, active in Australia between 1842 and 1867. MacGillivray was born in Aberdeen, the son of ornithologist William MacGillivray. He took part in three of the Royal Nav ...

and John Latham. His special interest in mammals was also engaged through the foundation of the Australian Mammal Society and as editor of its bulletin. Calaby also held membership in the

Australian Institute of Aboriginal Studies The Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS), established as the Australian Institute of Aboriginal Studies (AIAS) in 1964, is an independent Australian Government statutory authority. It is a collecting, ...

. He gained promotion through his career to become Senior Principal Research Scientist at the CSIRO section studying wildlife (native fauna), and later as Assistant Chief scientist of the wildlife division, Toward the end of his career he was received as a fellow 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 ...

and appointed as an Honorary Research Fellow after his retirement from the CSIRO. His recognition after his retirement also included honorary positions with the Australian and the American Mammal Society and as an

Officer 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 ...

(AO) for scientific endeavours in zoology, ecology and his works in the field of Australian mammalogy. Calaby was responsible for assembling what would become the Australian National Wildlife Collection, formally designated in 1976, in which he had provided vouchers for over 45,000 specimens. Calaby's contribution to biology has been commemorated in the names of thirty species.

References

1922 births 1998 deaths Australian mammalogists Officers of the Order of Australia 20th-century Australian zoologists {{Australia-scientist-stub