William David Lindsay Ride (8 May 19266 November 2011), usually credited as W. D. L. Ride, was an Australian vertebrate

zoologist Zoology ()The pronunciation of zoology as is usually regarded as nonstandard, though it is not uncommon. is the branch of biology that studies the Animal, animal kingdom, including the anatomy, structure, embryology, evolution, Biological clas ...

and

paleontologist Paleontology (), also spelled palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of life that existed prior to, and sometimes including, the start of the Holocene epoch (roughly 11,700 years before present). It includes the study of fossi ...

who was the chair of the committee that wrote updated editions of the

International Code of Zoological Nomenclature The International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN) is a widely accepted convention in zoology that rules the formal scientific naming of organisms treated as animals. It is also informally known as the ICZN Code, for its publisher, the ...

Career

Ride was born in London, England, in 1926, the eldest son of Sir

Lindsay Tasman Ride Brigadier Sir Lindsay Tasman Ride, CBE, JP, ED, MD, MRCS, LRCP, Hon LLD (10 October 1898 – 17 October 1977) was an Australian physiologist, soldier, and vice chancellor of the University of Hong Kong. Early life Ride was born in Newstea ...

. In 1957, he was appointed director of the

Western Australian Museum The Western Australian Museum is a statutory authority within the Culture and the Arts Portfolio, established under the ''Museum Act 1969''. The museum has six main sites. The state museum, now known as WA Museum Boola Bardip, officially re-ope ...

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

, as well as a reader in zoology at the

University of Western Australia The University of Western Australia (UWA) is a public research university in the Australian state of Western Australia. The university's main campus is in Perth, the state capital, with a secondary campus in Albany, Western Australia, Albany an ...

. In 1975, he was appointed director of the Australian Biological Resources Study, located within the

Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) is an Australian Government agency responsible for scientific research. CSIRO works with leading organisations around the world. From its headquarters in Canberra, CSIRO ...

(CSIRO), in

Canberra Canberra ( ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...

. Ride worked for the CSIRO from 1974 to 1980.He was also the head of the School of Applied Science at

Canberra College of Advanced Education The University of Canberra (UC) is a public research university with its main campus located in Bruce, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory. The campus is within walking distance of Westfield Belconnen, and from Canberra's Civic Centre. UC ...

, 1982–87, and was appointed principal of the college in 1987. Following retirement in 198, he became a visiting fellow at the

Australian National University The Australian National University (ANU) is a public research university located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton encompasses seven teaching and research colleges, in addition to several national academies and ...

until 2002. In 1984, Ride was made a member of the

Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...

. He died in 2011 in

, aged 85, survived by his wife Margaret and five children including the writer, curator and academic

Peter Ride Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a su ...

Bibliography

David Ride produced a field guide to Australia's mammals in 1970, a subject that had not been addressed since the publication of the second edition of ''

Furred Animals of Australia ''Furred Animals of Australia'' is a general reference book, first published in 1931, that gives accounts of Australian mammals, the continent's often unique marsupial and placental mammal fauna. The text and research for the book was undertaken b ...

'' in 1944. Although Ride's guide only provided brief diagnostic accounts of mammalian fauna, the work was the only generally available book until the Australian Museum issued the standard text of Australian mammalogy for its series

National Photographic Index of Australian Wildlife The National Photographic Index of Australian Wildlife was founded as a project of the Australian Museum on 3 June 1969 (as the National Photographic Index of Australian Birds) to compile a comprehensive collection of photographs of Australian bir ...

. As well as numerous papers in the scientific literature, books written or edited by Ride include: * Ride, W.D.L. (1970). ''A guide to the native mammals of Australia''. (Illustrated by

Ella Fry Ella Fry (née Robinson) (1916–1997) was an artist, musician, and chairperson of the Western Australian Art Gallery, in Perth, Western Australia from 1976 to 1986. She was born in Brisbane in 1916 and educated at Brisbane Girls Grammar School. ...

). OUP: Melbourne. * Groves, R.H.; & Ride, W.D.L. (eds). (1982). ''Species at Risk: Research in Australia''. (Proceedings of a Symposium on the Biology of Rare and Endangered Species in Australia, sponsored by the Australian Academy of Science and held in Canberra, 25 and 26 November 1981). Springer-Verlag. * Ride, W.D.L.; & Younes, T. (eds). (1987). ''Biological Nomenclature Today''. (IUBS Monograph Series No.2). OUP: USA.

References

"Ride, William David Lindsay (1926– )"
''Bright Sparcs''. Retrieved 2 July 2007
University of Canberra: principals
Australian zoologists 1926 births 2011 deaths Members of the Order of Australia {{Zoologist-stub