John Walter Guerrier Lund

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

FRS (27 November 1912 – 21 March 2015) was an English phycologist.

Early life and education

Lund was born in 1912 and was educated at

Sedbergh School Sedbergh School is a public school (English independent day and boarding school) in the town of Sedbergh in Cumbria, in North West England. It comprises a junior school for children aged 4 to 13 and the main school for 13 to 18 year olds. I ...

. He studied for his Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees at the

University of Manchester , mottoeng = Knowledge, Wisdom, Humanity , established = 2004 – University of Manchester Predecessor institutions: 1956 – UMIST (as university college; university 1994) 1904 – Victoria University of Manchester 1880 – Victoria Univ ...

, before moving to the

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 ...

in 1935. He was awarded his PhD in 1939 and his

DSc DSC may refer to: Academia * Doctor of Science (D.Sc.) * District Selection Committee, an entrance exam in India * Doctor of Surgical Chiropody, superseded in the 1960s by Doctor of Podiatric Medicine Educational institutions * Dalton State Col ...

in 1951. In 1949 he married Hilda Mabel Canter and they had two children together.

Career

He worked for a time as a Lecturer at the

University of Sheffield , mottoeng = To discover the causes of things , established = – University of SheffieldPredecessor institutions: – Sheffield Medical School – Firth College – Sheffield Technical School – University College of Sheffield , type = Pu ...

, and then joined the West Midlands Forensic Science Laboratory as Staff Biologist. While there he worked on the case of the unsolved murder victim who has become known as Wych Elm Bella. In 1944 he joined the Freshwater Biological Association (FBA) as Scientific Officer for algology, moving to

Windermere Windermere (sometimes tautologically called Windermere Lake to distinguish it from the nearby town of Windermere) is the largest natural lake in England. More than 11 miles (18 km) in length, and almost 1 mile (1.5 km) at its wides ...

with the Association's Fritsch Collection of Freshwater Algae in 1954. He retired in 1978, was appointed Deputy chief scientific officer and then Honorary Advisor to the FBA. In 1991 he was elected an FBA Honorary Fellow, and continued to work at the Ferry House laboratory until 2005. His papers are now held in the archives of the Freshwater Biological Association.

Honours and awards

Lund was President of the

British Phycological Society The British Phycological Society, founded in 1952, is a learned society based in the United Kingdom promoting the study of algae. Members interests include all aspects of the study of algae, including both natural biodiversity and applied uses. ...

in 1957. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS) in 1963 and made Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 1975. In 1975 he and Hilda Mabel Canter-Lund received the Prescott Award from the Phycological Society of America "for publication of the best book about algae", namely ''Freshwater Algae: Their Microscopic World Explored'' published in 1995.

References

English biologists British phycologists 1912 births 2015 deaths Academics of the University of Sheffield Alumni of the University of Manchester Alumni of the University of London Commanders of the Order of the British Empire English centenarians Men centenarians Fellows of the Royal Society People educated at Sedbergh School {{England-scientist-stub