Thomas Alan Stephenson
FRS (19 January 1898 – 3 April 1961) was a British
naturalist, and
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 ...
, specialising in
sea anemone
Sea anemones are a group of predation, predatory marine invertebrates of the order (biology), order Actiniaria. Because of their colourful appearance, they are named after the ''Anemone'', a terrestrial flowering plant. Sea anemones are classifi ...
s.
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Education
Stephenson was born at Burnham-on-Sea
Burnham-on-Sea is a seaside town in Somerset, England, at the mouth of the River Parrett, upon Bridgwater Bay. Burnham was a small fishing village until the late 18th century when it began to grow because of its popularity as a seaside resort.
...
, the son of a minister and amateur botanist
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 wo ...
. He soon developed an interest in natural history and went to study at University College, Aberystwyth
Aberystwyth University ( cy, Prifysgol Aberystwyth) is a Public university, public Research university, research university in Aberystwyth, Wales. Aberystwyth was a founding member institution of the former federal University of Wales. The universi ...
. He began to study the local sea anemones there, but had to abandon his studies because of illness. Despite not completing his degree, he was made a staff member and was later awarded a doctorate
A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''l ...
for the body of work that he had produced.
Career
Stephenson held a number of academic posts in Britain, and at the University of Cape Town
The University of Cape Town (UCT) ( af, Universiteit van Kaapstad, xh, Yunibesithi ya yaseKapa) is a public research university in Cape Town, South Africa. Established in 1829 as the South African College, it was granted full university statu ...
, South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
. His final position was that of Professor and Head of the Department of Zoology at the University College of Wales, Aberystwyth.
The National Marine Biological Library at the Marine Biological Association
The Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom (MBA) is a learned society with a scientific laboratory that undertakes research in marine biology. The organisation was founded in 1884 and has been based in Plymouth since the Citadel H ...
in Plymouth hold some of his personal and scientific records, including paintings, negatives and notebooks on South Africa.
Publications
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References
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Stephenson, Thomas Alan
1898 births
1961 deaths
People from Burnham-on-Sea
20th-century British zoologists
Fellows of the Royal Society
Alumni of Aberystwyth University
University of Cape Town academics
20th-century English male artists