Dr Norman Tebble

FRSE Fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE) is an award granted to individuals that the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Scotland's national academy of science and letters, judged to be "eminently distinguished in their subject". This soci ...

FIB (1924–1998) was a 20th-century British marine biologist.

Life

He was born in East Sleekburn in

Northumberland Northumberland () is a county in Northern England, one of two counties in England which border with Scotland. Notable landmarks in the county include Alnwick Castle, Bamburgh Castle, Hadrian's Wall and Hexham Abbey. It is bordered by land on ...

on 17 August 1924, the son of Robert soulsby Tebble and his wife, Jane Ann Graham. He was educated at

Bedlington Bedlington is a town and former civil parish in Northumberland, England, with a population of 18,470 measured at the 2011 Census. Bedlington is an ancient market town, with a rich history of industry and innovative residents. Located roughly 1 ...

Grammar School. He entered

St Andrews University (Aien aristeuein) , motto_lang = grc , mottoeng = Ever to ExcelorEver to be the Best , established = , type = Public research university Ancient university , endowment ...

under the University Short Course Scheme, which offered a university place linked to military service. In late 1943 he joined the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve and served as a pilot in

Burma Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...

and

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. In 1946 he returned to

St Andrews University (Aien aristeuein) , motto_lang = grc , mottoeng = Ever to ExcelorEver to be the Best , established = , type = Public research university Ancient university , endowment ...

to study palaeontology with a focus upon

foraminifera Foraminifera (; Latin for "hole bearers"; informally called "forams") are single-celled organisms, members of a phylum or class of amoeboid protists characterized by streaming granular Ectoplasm (cell biology), ectoplasm for catching food and ot ...

. From 1946 he came under the tutelage of Prof

David Raitt Robertson Burt Prof David Raitt Robertson Burt BSc FRSE FLS FZS (1899-1983) was a Scottish zoologist with strong links to Ceylon. St Andrews University’s Burt Memorial Lecture is named after him. He is also credited with mounting the Bell Pettigrew Museum coll ...

. Burt became a lifelong friend and pushed Tebble towards museum work. Burt obtained a summer position for Tebble at the

Shell Oil Company Shell USA, Inc. (formerly Shell Oil Company, Inc.) is the United States-based wholly owned subsidiary of Shell plc, a UK-based transnational corporation " oil major" which is amongst the largest oil companies in the world. Approximately 18,0 ...

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital of ...

in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. He became an expert in the

taxonomy Taxonomy is the practice and science of categorization or classification. A taxonomy (or taxonomical classification) is a scheme of classification, especially a hierarchical classification, in which things are organized into groups or types. ...

of foraminifera. He gained his BSc in 1950. In 1950 he became Assistant Scientific Officer at the British Natural History Museum in London. In 1958 he was given the John Murray Travelling Scholarship and went to the Scripps Institution of Oceanography based at

La Jolla La Jolla ( , ) is a hilly, seaside neighborhood within the city of San Diego, California, United States, occupying of curving coastline along the Pacific Ocean. The population reported in the 2010 census was 46,781. La Jolla is surrounded on ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. In 1961, back in London, he was promoted to Curator of the Mollusc Collection of the Museum. This was somewhat reluctant it seems as it was not his field of interest. His alma mater awarded him a doctorate (DSc) in 1968. In 1968 he moved to

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

as both lecturer in marine biology at

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

plus Curator of the university's zoological collection. Oxford gave him an honorary MA in 1971. In 1971 he received a dramatic promotion and transferred to

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

as Director of the

Royal Scottish Museum The National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh, Scotland, was formed in 2006 with the merger of the new Museum of Scotland, with collections relating to Scottish antiquities, culture and history, and the adjacent Royal Scottish Museum (opened in ...

on Chambers Street (now the Museum of Scotland). In 1975 he was one of the founders of the

National Museum of Flight The National Museum of Flight is Scotland's national aviation museum, at East Fortune Airfield, just south of the village of East Fortune, Scotland. It is one of the museums within National Museums Scotland. The museum is housed in the original ...

East Fortune East Fortune is a village in East Lothian, Scotland, located 2 miles (3 km) north west of East Linton. The area is known for its airfield which was constructed in 1915 to help protect Britain from attack by German Zeppelin airships during t ...

, east of Edinburgh. In 1976 he was elected a Fellow of the

Royal Society of Edinburgh The Royal Society of Edinburgh is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity that operates on a wholly independent and non-partisan basis and provides public benefit throughout Scotland. It was established i ...

. His proposers were

James Munro Dodd Prof James Munro Dodd FRS FRSE FZS (1915–1986) was a British marine biologist. He was Emeritus Professor of Zoology at the University College of North Wales in Bangor. He was generally known as Jimmie Dodd. He specialised in Comparative Endoc ...

, James A. MacDonald and John F. Allen. In 1977 he served as President of the Museums Association (UK). He retired in 1984 and died in

North Berwick North Berwick (; gd, Bearaig a Tuath) is a seaside town and former royal burgh in East Lothian, Scotland. It is situated on the south shore of the Firth of Forth, approximately east-northeast of Edinburgh. North Berwick became a fashionable ...

on 23 July 1998.

Family

In 1954 he married fellow zoologist Mary Olivia Archer, who he had met through his work in the Natural History Museum.

Publications

*''The Polychaete Fauna of the Gold Coast'' (1955) *''British Bivalve Seashells'' (1966) *''Polychaetes from Scottish Waters'' (1985)

References

1924 births 1998 deaths Scientists from Northumberland Alumni of the University of St Andrews British marine biologists Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh 20th-century British zoologists British people in British Burma British people in colonial India Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve personnel of World War II Royal Air Force pilots of World War II {{UK-biologist-stub