William John Dakin (23 July 1883 – 2 April 1950) was a

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

who is remembered for the large number of his students who achieved prominence in the area of zoology and for the number of books and papers he wrote on many

scientific Science is a systematic endeavor that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe. Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earliest archeological evidence for ...

fields. Dakin was born in

Toxteth Toxteth is an inner-city area of Liverpool in the historic county of Lancashire and the ceremonial county of Merseyside. Toxteth is located to the south of Liverpool city centre, bordered by Aigburth, Canning, Dingle, and Edge Hill. The area w ...

, a suburb of

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

, England in 1883, as the son of William and Elizabeth Dakin. His father was a coal merchant. Studying at the

University of Liverpool , mottoeng = These days of peace foster learning , established = 1881 – University College Liverpool1884 – affiliated to the federal Victoria Universityhttp://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukla/2004/4 University of Manchester Act 200 ...

he attained his BSc with first class honours in Zoology in 1905, his MSc in 1907 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 * District Selection Committee, an entrance exam in India * Doctor of Surgical Chiropody, superseded in the 1960s by Doctor of Podiatric Medicine Educational institutions * Dalton State Col ...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 1911 on osmotic pressure and the blood of fishes. In 1912 Dakin applied and was appointed as the chair of

Biology Biology is the scientific study of life. It is a natural science with a broad scope but has several unifying themes that tie it together as a single, coherent field. For instance, all organisms are made up of cells that process hereditary i ...

at the recently established

University of Western Australia The University of Western Australia (UWA) is a public research university in the Australian state of Western Australia. The university's main campus is in Perth, the state capital, with a secondary campus in Albany, Western Australia, Albany an ...

. Before arriving to take his post Dakin married Catherine Lewis in 1913. While at UWA Dakin published ''The Elements of Animal Biology'' in 1918, chaired the extension committee, twice visited the

Houtman Abrolhos The Houtman Abrolhos (often called the Abrolhos Islands) is a chain of 122 islands and associated coral reefs, in the Indian Ocean off the west coast of Australia, about west of Geraldton, Western Australia. It is the southernmost true coral ...

and was the president of the

Royal Society of Western Australia The Royal Society of Western Australia (RSWA) promotes science in Western Australia. The RSWA was founded in 1914. It publishes the ''Journal of the Royal Society of Western Australia'', and has awarded the Medal of the Royal Society of Western ...

. Dakin was Professor of Zoology at the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's si ...

from 1929 to 1947. A frequent contributor to early issues of ''Walkabout'', among the books he wrote was ''Whalemen Adventurers'' (1934), a history of whaling in Australia. A revised edition was issued in 1938; it was reissued by Sirius Books in 1963.

Legacy

In 1977 a $2000 bequest from his wife was granted to the University of Sydney in his memory. Known as the "William John Dakin Memorial Prize in Zoology", it is awarded annually to a Zoology student attaining first class honours in biology.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dakin, William John 1883 births 1950 deaths People from Toxteth 20th-century Australian zoologists Scientists from Liverpool Royal Society of Western Australia Australian maritime historians 20th-century Australian historians University of Sydney faculty