William Sutherland Dun (1 July 1868 – 7 October 1934) was an Australian
palaeontologist,
geologist and president of the
Royal Society of New South Wales
The Royal Society of New South Wales is a learned society based in Sydney, Australia. The Governor of New South Wales is the vice-regal patron of the Society.
The Society was established as the Philosophical Society of Australasia on 27 June ...
.
Dun was the son of Major Percy Henderson Dun, formerly of the
East India Company's army, and his wife Catherine Eliza Jane, , and was born at Cleveland House,
Cheltenham
Cheltenham (), also known as Cheltenham Spa, is a spa town and borough on the edge of the Cotswolds in the county of Gloucestershire, England. Cheltenham became known as a health and holiday spa town resort, following the discovery of mineral s ...
,
England. The family moved to Australia in 1869, and Dun was educated at
Newington College (1882-1886)
[Newington College Register of Past Students 1863-1998 (Syd, 1999) pp55] and the
University of Sydney.
On 8 April 1890 Dun was employed as a probationer in the Geological Survey of
New South Wales and was an assistant to
Edgeworth David in his work on the
Hunter River coalfield. Dun owed most of his training to
Robert Etheridge, Junior. In 1892 Dun passed his final examinations in geology and palaeontology with first-class honours and in 1893 was made assistant palaeontologist to the geological survey. In 1899 he was appointed palaeontologist to the survey and in 1902 became lecturer in palaeontology to the University of Sydney.
Dun was president of the
Linnean Society of New South Wales in 1913 and 1914, and president of the Royal Society of New South Wales for the year 1918-19. He resigned from the geological survey in 1933 but continued his university lectureship until his death. He died on 7 October 1934 of cancer and was survived by his second wife (Mabel, née Edgar), and four children — a son and daughter each from both marriages. His writings can be found in the ''Records of the Geological Survey of New South Wales''.
References
*D. F. Branagan, T. G. Vallance,
Dun, William Sutherland (1868 - 1934), ''
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 ...
'', Vol.8,
MUP, 1981, p. 364. Retrieved on 4 October 2008.
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dun, William Sutherland
1868 births
1934 deaths
Australian paleontologists
Australian geologists
People educated at Newington College