Norman John ("Jack") Berrill (28 April 1903 – 16 October 1996) was an English

marine biologist Marine biology is the scientific study of the biology of marine life, organisms in the sea. Given that in biology many scientific classification, phyla, family (biology), families and genera have some species that live in the sea and others th ...

. He was born in

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

and received his BSc degree from the

University of Bristol , mottoeng = earningpromotes one's innate power (from Horace, ''Ode 4.4'') , established = 1595 – Merchant Venturers School1876 – University College, Bristol1909 – received royal charter , type ...

in 1924 and his PhD (1929) and DSc (1931) from

University College London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = ...

. In 1928, he joined the faculty of

McGill University McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter granted by King George IV,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill Universit ...

in Montreal, where, from 1946 to 1965, he was Strathcona Professor of Zoology.N.J. Berrill biography, Encyclopædia Britannica
On 20 March 1952 he was named a

Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the judges of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural science, natural knowledge, incl ...

. He was also a member of the

Royal Society of Canada The Royal Society of Canada (RSC; french: Société royale du Canada, SRC), also known as the Academies of Arts, Humanities and Sciences of Canada (French: ''Académies des arts, des lettres et des sciences du Canada''), is the senior national, bil ...

(1936) and the

American Association for the Advancement of Science The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is an American international non-profit organization with the stated goals of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific respons ...

(1978). Berrill wrote numerous books, including both works of popular science which were compared by some reviewers to books by

Rachel Carson Rachel Louise Carson (May 27, 1907 – April 14, 1964) was an American marine biologist, writer, and conservationist whose influential book ''Silent Spring'' (1962) and other writings are credited with advancing the global environmental m ...

and

Loren Eiseley Loren Eiseley (September 3, 1907 – July 9, 1977) was an American anthropologist, educator, philosopher, and natural science writer, who taught and published books from the 1950s through the 1970s. He received many honorary degrees and was a fel ...

, as well as textbooks and scientific monographs. Two of his titles, ''Man's Emerging Mind'' and ''Sex and the Nature of Things'', won the Canadian

Governor General's Award for English-language non-fiction The Governor General's Award for English-language non-fiction is a Canadian literary award that annually recognizes one Canadian writer for a non-fiction book written in English. Since 1987 it is one of fourteen Governor General's Awards for Litera ...

. His 1950 monograph on tunicata is the definitive work on the subject.Obituary at the Royal Society website
Berrill received honorary doctorates from the universities of

Windsor Windsor may refer to: Places Australia * Windsor, New South Wales ** Municipality of Windsor, a former local government area * Windsor, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane, Queensland **Shire of Windsor, a former local government authority around Wi ...

(1968),

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

(1972) and McGill (1973). Berrill was married twice and had three children, raising his first child as a single parent after his first wife died. He co-wrote two books with his son and his second wife.

Selected works

* ''The Tunicata, with an account of the British species'' (

Ray Society The Ray Society is a scientific text publication society that publishes works devoted principally to British flora and fauna. As of 2019, it had published 181 volumes. Its publications are predominantly academic works of interest to naturalists, zo ...

, 1950) * ''The Living Tide'' (Dodd, Mead, 1951) * ''Journey into Wonder'' (Dodd, Mead, 1952) * ''Sex and the Nature of Things'' (Dodd, Mead, 1953), winner of the

* ''The Origin of Vertebrates'' (Clarendon Press, 1955) *
Man's Emerging Mind
' (Dodd, Mead, 1955; reprinted by Oxford University Press, 2010), winner of the

*
1001 Questions Answered about the Seashore
' (with Jacquelyn Berrill) (Dodd, Mead, 1957; reprinted by Dover Books, 1976) * ''You and the Universe'' (Dodd, Mead, 1958) * ''Growth, Development and Pattern'' (W.H. Freeman, 1961) * ''Worlds Without End'' (Macmillan, 1964) * ''Inherit the Earth'' (Dodd, Mead, 1966) * ''Biology In Action: A Beginning College Textbook'' (Dodd, Mead, 1966) * ''The Life of the Ocean'' (McGraw-Hill, 1966) * ''The Person in the Womb'' (McGraw-Hill, 1968) * ''The Life of Sea Islands'' (with Michael Berrill) (McGraw-Hill, 1969) * ''Developmental Biology'' (McGraw-Hill, 1971)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Berrill, N.J. 1903 births 1996 deaths Alumni of the University of Bristol English marine biologists Fellows of the Royal Society Academic staff of McGill University 20th-century British zoologists Governor General's Award-winning non-fiction writers