Trevor Clifford (1927-2019) was an Australian botanist and taxonomist, distinguished for his work on the hybridisation of species and palaeobotany.

Early life

Harold Trevor Clifford was born in

Melbourne, Australia 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 metropol ...

on April 18, 1927. His father owned a furniture shop and later worked as a green grocer in Perth and Melbourne during the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

. After the completion of school, he took employment with the Victorian Department of Education which offered a scholarship to obtain a teaching degree. He was awarded a Dafydd Lewis scholarship and began his study at the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb nor ...

in 1945. Part of his school studies had been in geology and Clifford considered becoming a geology teacher. He graduated with a science degree in 1948, having majored in geology and botany. Clifford took up employment as a part time tutor in the Department of Botany after graduation and commenced research toward a master's degree on the distribution of

eucalypt Eucalypt is a descriptive name for woody plants with capsule fruiting bodies belonging to seven closely related genera (of the tribe Eucalypteae) found across Australasia: ''Eucalyptus'', '' Corymbia'', '' Angophora'', ''Stockwellia'', ''Allosyn ...

s in the

Dandenong Ranges The Dandenong Ranges (commonly just The Dandenongs) are a set of low mountain ranges, rising to 633 metres at Mount Dandenong, approximately east of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The ranges consist mostly of rolling hills, steeply weathere ...

. He also worked in the Herbarium of the Royal Botanic Gardens. After meeting with

R. A. Fisher Sir Ronald Aylmer Fisher (17 February 1890 – 29 July 1962) was a British polymath who was active as a mathematician, statistician, biologist, geneticist, and academic. For his work in statistics, he has been described as "a genius who ...

from the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

to discuss his research, he was encouraged to prepare a paper for publication which led to him being awarded a scholarship to travel to

Durham, England Durham ( , locally ), is a cathedral city and civil parish on the River Wear, County Durham, England. It is an administrative centre of the County Durham District, which is a successor to the historic County Palatine of Durham (which is dif ...

in 1952 to undertake studies toward a PhD for 2 years. Professor David Valentine was his supervisor at

Durham University , mottoeng = Her foundations are upon the holy hills (Psalm 87:1) , established = (university status) , type = Public , academic_staff = 1,830 (2020) , administrative_staff = 2,640 (2018/19) , chancellor = Sir Thomas Allen , vice_chan ...

Career

Clifford was offered the position of lecturer in agricultural botany at the University College in Ibadan, Nigeria. In 1958, he and his family returned to Australia to take up a position at the

University of Queensland , mottoeng = By means of knowledge and hard work , established = , endowment = A$224.3 million , budget = A$2.1 billion , type = Public research university , chancellor = Peter Varghese , vice_chancellor = Deborah Terry , city = B ...

. He was awarded a fellowship of the

Linnean Society 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 ...

in 1965. He and Professor

William Stephenson Sir William Samuel Stephenson (23 January 1897 – 31 January 1989), born William Samuel Clouston Stanger, was a Canadian soldier, fighter pilot, businessman and spymaster who served as the senior representative of the British Security Coo ...

collaborated on the book ''An Introduction to numerical classification'', an early textbook on

multivariate analysis Multivariate statistics is a subdivision of statistics encompassing the simultaneous observation and analysis of more than one outcome variable. Multivariate statistics concerns understanding the different aims and background of each of the dif ...

. Clifford was steadily promoted within the department and retired in the early 1990s as an Emeritus Professor. He published over 200 articles and books. Boxes of his papers are held in the Fryer Library of the University of Queensland. Clifford took up work at the

Queensland Museum The Queensland Museum is the state museum of Queensland, dedicated to natural history, cultural heritage, science and human achievement. The museum currently operates from its headquarters and general museum in South Brisbane with specialist mu ...

in his retirement, collaborating on a project with Mary Dettmann.

Personal life

Clifford married Gillian Farley in Melbourne in 1953. They had three children. He died in Brisbane on May 4, 2019.

Memberships and awards

*Honorary Life Member of the

Royal Society of Queensland The Royal Society of Queensland was formed in Queensland, Australia in 1884 from the Queensland Philosophical Society, Queensland's oldest scientific institution, with royal patronage granted in 1885. The aim of the Society is "Progressing scie ...

*Order of Australia Medal, for services to botany and tertiary education

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Clifford, Trevor 1927 births 2019 deaths 20th-century Australian botanists Australian taxonomists University of Melbourne alumni Recipients of the Medal of the Order of Australia University of Queensland faculty Alumni of St Cuthbert's Society, Durham