Maxwell Ralph Jacobs (25 February 1905 – 9 October 1979) was an Australian

forester A forester is a person who practises forestry, the science, art, and profession of managing forests. Foresters engage in a broad range of activities including ecological restoration and management of protected areas. Foresters manage forests to ...

. Jacobs was born in

North Adelaide North Adelaide is a predominantly residential precinct and suburb of the City of Adelaide in South Australia, situated north of the River Torrens and within the Adelaide Park Lands. History Surveyor-General Colonel William Light of the colo ...

and attended

Unley High School Unley High School, located in Netherby, South Australia. History Unley High School was founded in 1910 as one of the first public high schools to be established after Adelaide High School in 1908. Initially it was under the control of the He ...

and then the

University of Adelaide The University of Adelaide (informally Adelaide University) is a public research university located in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third-oldest university in Australia. The university's main campus is located on N ...

. He began his career as a forest assessor 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. ...

in 1926 and was appointed chief forester in 1928. He completed further studies and served in the military during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. In 1932 '' Eucalyptus jacobsiana'', specimens of which had been collected by Jacobs, was named in his honour by

William Blakely William Faris Blakely (November 1875 – 1 September 1941) was an Australian botanist and collector. From 1913 to 1940 he worked in the National Herbarium of New South Wales, working with Joseph Maiden on ''Eucalyptus'', Maiden named a ''red g ...

. Other species collected and described by Jacobs include; ''

Eucalyptus niphophloia ''Eucalyptus'' () is a genus of over seven hundred species of flowering trees, shrubs or Mallee (habit), mallees in the Myrtaceae, myrtle Family (biology), family, Myrtaceae. Along with several other genera in the Tribe (biology), tribe Eucalypte ...

'', ''

Eucalyptus camaldulensis ''Eucalyptus camaldulensis'', commonly known as the river red gum, is a tree that is endemic to Australia. It has smooth white or cream-coloured bark, lance-shaped or curved adult leaves, flower buds in groups of seven or nine, white flowers an ...

'' Dehnh. var. ''pendula'' and ''

Eucalyptus abbreviata ''Corymbia abbreviata'', also known as scraggy bloodwood, is a species of straggly tree that is native to Western Australia and the Northern Territory. It has rough bark, a crown of stiff leaves arranged in opposite pairs, flower buds usually i ...

'' all named in 1934. Following the war Jacobs was appointed as principal and lecturer in

silviculture Silviculture is the practice of controlling the growth, composition/structure, and quality of forests to meet values and needs, specifically timber production. The name comes from the Latin ('forest') and ('growing'). The study of forests and wo ...

at the

Australian Forestry School The Australian National University (ANU) is a public research university located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton, Australian Capital Territory, Acton encompasses seven teaching and research colleges, in additio ...

and remained there for the next fifteen years. In 1955 ''The Growth Habits of the Eucalypts'' was published by the Commonwealth Government Printer, and consolidated much of Jacobs' work. The book became a standard text in all countries growing eucalypts around the world. In 1961 Jacobs was appointed as director-general of the Commonwealth Forestry and Timber Bureau and played a role in the formation of the Australian Forestry Council in 1964. After his retirement in February 1970, he continued to work occasionally as a consultant to organizations such as the

Food and Agriculture Organization The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)french: link=no, Organisation des Nations unies pour l'alimentation et l'agriculture; it, Organizzazione delle Nazioni Unite per l'Alimentazione e l'Agricoltura is an intern ...

. Jacobs died on 9 October 1979 in Woden Valley Hospital in

Canberra Canberra ( ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...

. A street in

Wright Wright is an occupational surname originating in England. The term 'Wright' comes from the circa 700 AD Old English word 'wryhta' or 'wyrhta', meaning worker or shaper of wood. Later it became any occupational worker (for example, a shipwright is ...

is named in his honour.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jacobs, Maxwell Ralph 1905 births 1979 deaths Australian foresters