Maurice Burton (28 March 1898 – 9 September 1992) was a British

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 ...

and popular science author, who produced many natural history encyclopedias and books including a skeptical treatment of the

Loch Ness Monster The Loch Ness Monster ( gd, Uilebheist Loch Nis), affectionately known as Nessie, is a creature in Scottish folklore that is said to inhabit Loch Ness in the Scottish Highlands. It is often described as large, long-necked, and with one or mor ...

Early life and education

Burton was born in

Hornsey Hornsey is a district of north London, England in the London Borough of Haringey The London Borough of Haringey (pronounced , same as Harringay) is a London borough in North London, classified by some definitions as part of Inner Lo ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, on 28 March 1898. He attended

Holloway School Beacon High is a coeducational secondary school for 11-16-year-olds in the Tufnell Park area, located in the London Borough of Islington, England. Beacon High is a member of the Islington Futures Federation of Community Schools and the Islington ...

. Burton studied

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 ...

King's College, London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public research university located in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of King George IV and the Duke of Wellington. In 1836, King's ...

under

Arthur Dendy Arthur Dendy (20 January 1865, in Manchester – 24 March 1925, in London) was an English zoologist known for his work on marine sponges and the terrestrial invertebrates of Victoria, Australia, notably including the "living fossil" '' Peripatus'' ...

Career

Burton became a schoolteacher. He later joined the staff of the

Natural History Museum, London The Natural History Museum in London is a museum that exhibits a vast range of specimens from various segments of natural history. It is one of three major museums on Exhibition Road in South Kensington, the others being the Science Museum an ...

in 1926 where he remained for the rest of his career until his retirement in 1958. He was Curator of

Sponge Sponges, the members of the phylum Porifera (; meaning 'pore bearer'), are a basal animal clade as a sister of the diploblasts. They are multicellular organisms that have bodies full of pores and channels allowing water to circulate through t ...

s at the museum from 1927 to 1948, then its Deputy Keeper of Zoology from 1949 to 1958. His popular science writing included major work on encyclopedias and acting as Science Editor for the ''

Illustrated London News ''The Illustrated London News'' appeared first on Saturday 14 May 1842, as the world's first illustrated weekly news magazine. Founded by Herbert Ingram, it appeared weekly until 1971, then less frequently thereafter, and ceased publication in ...

'' and Nature Correspondent for the ''

Daily Telegraph Daily or The Daily may refer to: Journalism * Daily newspaper, newspaper issued on five to seven day of most weeks * ''The Daily'' (podcast), a podcast by ''The New York Times'' * ''The Daily'' (News Corporation), a defunct US-based iPad new ...

''. In 1961, he published the book ''The Elusive Monster'' which reviews the evidence for the

in the light of his professional knowledge. He concluded that it was unlikely that such creatures were living in

Loch Ness Loch Ness (; gd, Loch Nis ) is a large freshwater loch in the Scottish Highlands extending for approximately southwest of Inverness. It takes its name from the River Ness, which flows from the northern end. Loch Ness is best known for clai ...

. He commented further on this topic in the ''

New Scientist ''New Scientist'' is a magazine covering all aspects of science and technology. Based in London, it publishes weekly English-language editions in the United Kingdom, the United States and Australia. An editorially separate organisation publishe ...

''. Many of Burton's books were aimed at a juvenile audience. Some of his later books or revised editions were published with his son, Robert Burton (born 1941) also trained as a zoologist and who published many natural history books himself. Robert also took over his father's Nature Notes column in the ''Daily Telegraph''. His daughter Jane Burton illustrated many of the books.

Personal life and demise

Burton married Margaret Maclean in 1929. They had two sons and a daughter. He died in

Albury Albury () is a major regional city in New South Wales, Australia. It is located on the Hume Highway and the northern side of the Murray River. Albury is the seat of local government for the council area which also bears the city's name – the ...

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

, on 9 September 1992. Sound recordings of Burton are available at The Albury History Society.

Publications

* 1938 (with A. Dendy): ''Outlines of Evolutionary Biology'' (Constable) * 1952: ''Curiosities of Animal Life'' (Ward Lock) * 1953: ''Animal Courtship'' (Hutchinson) * 1955 ''When Dumb Animals Talk (Hutchinson) * 1956: ''Infancy in Animals'' (Hutchinson) * 1957: ''Animal Legends'' (Coward-McCann) * 1959: ''The Phoenix Reborn'' (Hutchinson) * 1960: ''Under the Sea'' (Franklin Watts) * 1961: ''The Elusive Monster: An analysis of the evidence from Loch Ness'' (Hart-Davies) * 1962: ''Systematic Dictionary of Mammals of the World'' (Museum Press) * 1965: ''Young Animals'' (Hamlyn) * 1968: ''Animals'', Vol. 3 of the Frank Watts Reference Library (Frank Watts) * 1968: ''University Dictionary of Mammals of the World'' (Crowell) * 1968: ''Wild Animals of the British Isles'' (F. Warne) * 1969: ''Animal World in Colour'' (12 volumes) (Children's Press) * 1971: ''Animal Oddities: The Strangest Living Creatures'' (Odhams), * 1972: ''Encyclopedia of Animals in Colour'' (Octopus), * 1973: ''The Sea's Inhabitants'' (Eric Thomas) * 1973: ''The Sixth Sense of Animals'' (Taplinger), * 1974: ''All-Colour Book of Baby Animals'' (Octopus) * 1974: ''Prehistoric Animals'' (F. Muller), * 1974 (with R. Burton: ''The Life of Reptiles and Amphibians'' (Octopus), * 1975 (with R. Burton): ''Encyclopedia of Insects and Arachnids'' (Octopus), * 1976 (with R. Van Assen & C. J. Barnard): ''Guide to the Mammals of Britain and Europe'' (Elsevier) * 1976 (with R. Burton): ''Encyclopedia of the Animal Kingdom'' (Octopus), * 1979 (with R. Burton): ''The Animal World: an encyclopaedia of animal behaviour'' (Macmillan) * 1979: ''A Zoo at Home'' (J. M. Dent), * 1980 (with R. Burton): ''The New Funk & Wagnall's Illustrated Wildlife Encyclopedia'' (Funk & Wagnall) * 1980 (with R. Burton): ''The New International Wildlife Encyclopedia'' (Purnell) * 1990: ''The Life of Fishes'' (Simon & Schuster), * 1994 (with Robert Burton): ''The Marshall Cavendish International Wildlife Encyclopedia''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Burton, Maurice 1898 births 1992 deaths Writers from London People educated at Holloway School Alumni of King's College London English nature writers English science writers British encyclopedists Employees of the Natural History Museum, London 20th-century British zoologists