Robert Mackenzie Johnston F.L.S., (27 November 1843 – 20 April 1918)R. L. Wettenhall,
Johnston, Robert Mackenzie (1843 - 1918)
, ''

Australian Dictionary of Biography The ''Australian Dictionary of Biography'' (ADB or AuDB) is a national co-operative enterprise founded and maintained by the Australian National University (ANU) to produce authoritative biographical articles on eminent people in Australia's ...

'', Volume 9, MUP, 1983, pp 501-503. Retrieved 8 November 2012 was a Scottish-

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Au ...

statistician A statistician is a person who works with theoretical or applied statistics. The profession exists in both the private and public sectors. It is common to combine statistical knowledge with expertise in other subjects, and statisticians may wor ...

and

scientist A scientist is a person who conducts Scientific method, scientific research to advance knowledge in an Branches of science, area of the natural sciences. In classical antiquity, there was no real ancient analog of a modern scientist. Instead, ...

Early life

Johnston was born at Petty near

Inverness Inverness (; from the gd, Inbhir Nis , meaning "Mouth of the River Ness"; sco, Innerness) is a city in the Scottish Highlands. It is the administrative centre for The Highland Council and is regarded as the capital of the Highlands. Histori ...

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, the son of Lachlan Johnstone, a

crofter A croft is a fenced or enclosed area of land, usually small and arable, and usually, but not always, with a crofter's dwelling thereon. A crofter is one who has tenure and use of the land, typically as a tenant farmer, especially in rural area ...

, and his wife Mary, ''née'' Mackenzie. Johnston was educated at the village school where his ability was quickly recognized. Johnson was influenced by the life of Hugh Miller, a

stonemason Stonemasonry or stonecraft is the creation of buildings, structures, and sculpture using stone as the primary material. It is one of the oldest activities and professions in human history. Many of the long-lasting, ancient shelters, temples, mo ...

and

geologist A geologist is a scientist who studies the solid, liquid, and gaseous matter that constitutes Earth and other terrestrial planets, as well as the processes that shape them. Geologists usually study geology, earth science, or geophysics, althou ...

, whose books were lent to him. Johnston obtained work on the railways, read widely, and studied

botany Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek w ...

geology Geology () is a branch of natural science concerned with Earth and other astronomical objects, the features or rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Ear ...

, and

chemistry Chemistry is the science, scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a natural science that covers the Chemical element, elements that make up matter to the chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules and ions ...

at the

Andersonian University The University of Strathclyde ( gd, Oilthigh Shrath Chluaidh) is a public research university located in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded in 1796 as the Andersonian Institute, it is Glasgow's second-oldest university, having received its royal c ...

under Professors Kennedy, Crosskey, and Penny.

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

Career in Australia

Emigrating to

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

in 1870 he was given a position in the accountant's branch of the Launceston and Western District railway. He transferred to the government service in 1872, authoring "Field Memoranda for Tasmanian Botanists" (Launceston, 1874). In 1880 he became chief clerk in the Audit Department, his former railway colleagues presented him with a watch inscribed: In 1882 Johnston was appointed registrar-general and government statistician. Johnston was appointed a royal commissioner to report on the fisheries of

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

, being the author of "Descriptive Catalogue of Tasmanian Fishes" (Hobart, 1882). Johnston also did much geological work, and in 1888 the government published his ''Systematic Account of the Geology of Tasmania''. He was president of the economic and social science and statistics section at the meeting of the

Australasian Association for the Advancement of Science The Australian and New Zealand Association for the Advancement of Science (ANZAAS) is an organisation that was founded in 1888 as the Australasian Association for the Advancement of Science to promote science. It was modelled on the British As ...

held at

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

in 1890, and with the coming of

federation A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government (federalism). In a federation, the self-governin ...

he was able to influence very much the special problems of finance that were raised. He originated the scheme of per-capita payments by the Commonwealth to the states that was eventually adopted. Johnston was offered and declined the position of government statist for

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

, and declined to be a candidate for the position of Commonwealth statist.

Legacy

Johnston was also interested in all branches of science, in music, and in education. Johnston died at

Hobart Hobart ( ; Nuennonne/Palawa kani: ''nipaluna'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Home to almost half of all Tasmanians, it is the least-populated Australian state capital city, and second-small ...

on 20 April 1918 of heart disease. Johnston received the Imperial Service Order in 1903 and was fellow of the

Linnean Society of London The Linnean Society of London is a learned society dedicated to the study and dissemination of information concerning natural history, evolution, and taxonomy. It possesses several important biological specimen, manuscript and literature colle ...

and the Royal Geographical Society of Australasia and honorary fellow of the

Royal Statistical Society The Royal Statistical Society (RSS) is an established statistical society. It has three main roles: a British learned society for statistics, a professional body for statisticians and a charity which promotes statistics for the public good. ...

of London. A list of 103 of his papers is given in the ''Papers and Proceedings of the Royal Society of Tasmania'' for 1918, of which over 50 are on geological subjects. In 1903 ''The R. M. Johnston Memorial Volume'', being a selection from his more important papers, was published by the Tasmanian government. Species named in honor of Robert Mackenzie Johnston include the fish: Johnston's weedfish, ''

Heteroclinus johnstoni ''Heteroclinus johnstoni'', or Johnston's weedfish, is a species of clinid native to the waters along the around southern Australian coast where it prefers reefs with tall seaweed growth at depths down to about . This species can reach a maximu ...

'', and the Tasmanian yellow gum ''

Eucalyptus johnstonii ''Eucalyptus johnstonii'', commonly known as Tasmanian yellow gum, is a species of medium-sized to tall tree endemic to Tasmania. It has smooth yellow to greenish bark, lance-shaped adult leaves, flower buds in groups of three, white flowers and ...

''.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Johnston, Robert 1843 births 1918 deaths Australian statisticians British emigrants to Australia