William Gilbert Chaloner FRS (22 November 1928 – 13 October 2016) was a British

palaeobotanist Paleobotany, which is also spelled as palaeobotany, is the branch of botany dealing with the recovery and identification of plant remains from geological contexts, and their use for the biological reconstruction of past environments (paleogeogr ...

. He was

Professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who professes". Professo ...

Botany 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 w ...

in the Earth Sciences Department at

Royal Holloway, University of London Royal Holloway, University of London (RHUL), formally incorporated as Royal Holloway and Bedford New College, is a public research university and a constituent college of the federal University of London. It has six schools, 21 academic depa ...

, and Visiting Professor in Earth Sciences at

University College, London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = � ...

Education and early life

Chaloner was born in Chelsea, the son of Ernest J and Lenore (née Maude) Chaloner and was educated at Kingston Grammar School. He attended evening classes in Geology at Chelsea Polytechnic. In 1947 he went to study

Geology Geology () is a branch of natural science concerned with Earth and other Astronomical object, astronomical objects, the features or rock (geology), rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology ...

and

Chemistry Chemistry is the scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a natural science that covers the elements that make up matter to the compounds made of atoms, molecules and ions: their composition, structure, proper ...

at the

University of Reading The University of Reading is a public university in Reading, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1892 as University College, Reading, a University of Oxford extension college. The institution received the power to grant its own degrees in 192 ...

and was awarded a first class

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University o ...

degree in 1950 followed by a Ph.D. in 1953.

Career

After a postdoctoral year at the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

, he returned home to serve two years National Service in the army before joining the Department of Botany at University College, University of London in 1956. In 1972 he became Professor of Botany at

Birkbeck College , mottoeng = Advice comes over nightTranslation used by Birkbeck. , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £4.3 m (2014) , budget = £10 ...

, University of London. In 1979 he was appointed to the Hildred Carlyle Chair of Botany at Bedford College. He has held visiting professorships at

Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a public state-related land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsylvania. Founded in 1855 as the Farmers' High School of Pennsylvania, Penn State becam ...

University of Nigeria, Nsukka The University of Nigeria, commonly referred to as UNN, is a federal university located in Nsukka, Enugu State, Eastern part of Nigeria. Founded by Nnamdi Azikiwe in 1955 and formally opened on 7 October 1960, the University of Nigeria has th ...

and the

University of Massachusetts Amherst The University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass Amherst, UMass) is a public research university in Amherst, Massachusetts and the sole public land-grant university in Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Founded in 1863 as an agricultural college, ...

Awards and honours

Chaloner was an elected Fellow of the

Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...

in 1976, 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 ...

and the recipient of several awards, including the

Linnean Medal The Linnean Medal of the Linnean Society of London was established in 1888, and is awarded annually to alternately a botanist or a zoologist or (as has been common since 1958) to one of each in the same year. The medal was of gold until 1976, and ...

and 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 elected as a Trustee for the Royal Botanical Gardens at Kew in 1983. He was president of the

from 1985 to 1988.

Personal life

Chaloner was married to Judith Carroll, an American in 1955, with whom he had three children. Chaloner died on 13 October 2016 at the age of 87.

References

1928 births 2016 deaths Academics of the University of London Alumni of the University of Reading British palaeontologists Fellows of the Royal Society Members of the French Academy of Sciences Lyell Medal winners People educated at Kingston Grammar School Presidents of the Linnean Society of London {{UK-botanist-stub