Leonard Robert Morrison Cocks, OBE, TD (17 June 1938 – 5 February 2023), known as Robin Cocks, was a British

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, althoug ...

, formerly Keeper of Palaeontology, Natural History Museum. He was best known for his work on

brachiopods Brachiopods (), phylum Brachiopoda, are a phylum of trochozoan animals that have hard "valves" (shells) on the upper and lower surfaces, unlike the left and right arrangement in bivalve molluscs. Brachiopod valves are hinged at the rear end, wh ...

, and their use in reconstructing Earth history and past ecosystems.

Biography

Cocks was born in 1938; the son of Ralph Morrison Cocks and Lucille Mary Blackler. He was educated at

Felsted School (Keep your Faith) , established = , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent day and boarding , religion = Church of England , president = , head_label = Headmaster , head = Chris Townsend , r_head_l ...

and

Hertford College, Oxford Hertford College ( ), previously known as Magdalen Hall, is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. It is located on Catte Street in the centre of Oxford, directly opposite the main gate to the Bodleian Library. The col ...

. He was commissioned into the

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

in 1958, and saw military service in Malaya from 1958-1959. After leaving the army, Cocks went up to

in 1959 to read for a bachelor's degree in geology. He subsequently became a research student at Oxford in 1962, funded by the

DSIR Department of Scientific and Industrial Research, abbreviated DSIR was the name of several British Empire organisations founded after the 1923 Imperial Conference to foster intra-Empire trade and development. * Department of Scientific and Industria ...

, and completed his doctoral thesis on Silurian brachiopods from Shropshire in 1965.

Career

Cocks joined the staff of the

Natural History Museum, London The Natural History Museum in London is a museum that exhibits a vast range of specimens from various segments of natural history. It is one of three major museums on Exhibition Road in South Kensington, the others being the Science Museum an ...

as Scientific Officer in the department of palaeontology in September 1965. He was promoted to Senior Scientific Officer the next year, and to Principal Scientific Officer in June 1972. Cocks was appointed to Deputy Keeper in 1982, and was Keeper of Palaeontology from 1986 until retirement in June 1998. From 1970 to 1983 he served as a geologist with the Royal Engineers. He served as president of the Geological Society (1998-2000),

Palaeontological Association The Palaeontological Association (PalAss for short) is a charitable organisation based in the UK founded in 1957 for the promotion of the study of palaeontology and allied sciences. Publications The Association publishes two main journals: ' ...

(1994-1998),

Palaeontographical Society The Palaeontographical Society is a learned society, established in 1847, and is the oldest extant Society devoted to the advancement of palaeontological knowledge. The Society publishes monographs that further its primary purpose, which is to pro ...

(1994-1998) and

Geologists' Association The Geologists' Association, founded in 1858, is a British organisation with charitable status for those concerned with the study of geology. It publishes the ''Proceedings of the Geologists' Association'' and jointly with the Geological Society ...

(2004-2006). He also served on national and international scientific committees, including the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature (1982-2000). Cocks published many papers and books during his career, including ''The Evolving Earth'' (1981), and ''Earth History and Palaoegeography'', with Trond Torsvik in 2016. In 2019, Cocks published a monograph on

Llandovery Llandovery (; cy, Llanymddyfri ) is a market town and community in Carmarthenshire, Wales. It lies on the River Tywi and at the junction of the A40 and A483 roads, about north-east of Carmarthen, north of Swansea and west of Brecon. Hi ...

brachiopods, synthesising much of his taxonomic work of the previous six decades.

Personal life and death

In 1963, Cocks married Elaine Margaret Sturdy; they had three children, Mark, Zoe and Julia. Cocks died on 5 February 2023, at the age of 84.

Awards

Cocks was awarded the Coke Medal of the

Geological Society of London The Geological Society of London, known commonly as the Geological Society, is a learned society based in the United Kingdom. It is the oldest national geological society in the world and the largest in Europe with more than 12,000 Fellows. Fe ...

in 1995; the Andre Dumont Medal of the Belgian Geological Society (Geologica Belgica) in 2003, and in 2010 he was awarded the Palaeontological Association's

Lapworth Medal The Lapworth Medal is the highest award of the Palaeontological Association, given to those who have made a significant contribution to the science by means of a substantial body of research. Recipients Source Palaeontological Association*2020 - P ...

. He was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the

1999 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1999 for various Commonwealth realms were announced on 30 December 1998, to celebrate the year passed and mark the beginning of 1999. The ''Honours list'' is a list of people who have been awarded one of the various orders, d ...

for services to palaeontology.UK list:

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cocks, Robin 1938 births 2023 deaths British geologists Alumni of Hertford College, Oxford People educated at Felsted School Officers of the Order of the British Empire Presidents of the Geologists' Association Royal Artillery officers British Army personnel of the Malayan Emergency