Sir John Burton Cleland CBE

Order of the British Empire

The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...

 (22 June 1878 - 11 August 1971) was a renowned Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

n naturalist

Natural history

Natural history is the scientific research of plants or animals, leaning more towards observational rather than experimental methods of study, and encompasses more research published in magazines than in academic journals. Grouped among the natural sciences, natural history is the systematic study...

, microbiologist

Microbiologist

A microbiologist is a scientist who works in the field of microbiology. Microbiologists study organisms called microbes. Microbes can take the form of bacteria, viruses, fungi, and protists...

, mycologist and ornithologist.

Early Life and education

He was born in Norwood, South Australia

Norwood, South Australia

Norwood is a suburb of Adelaide, about 4 km east of the Adelaide city centre. The suburb is in the City of Norwood Payneham & St Peters, the oldest South Australian local government municipality, with a city population over 34,000.-History:...

, and attended Prince Alfred College

Prince Alfred College

Prince Alfred College is an independent, day and boarding school for boys, located on Dequetteville Terrace, Kent Town, near the centre of Adelaide, South Australia...

 and the Universities of Adelaide

University of Adelaide

The University of Adelaide is a public university located in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third oldest university in Australia...

 and Sydney

University of Sydney

The University of Sydney is a public university located in Sydney, New South Wales. The main campus spreads across the suburbs of Camperdown and Darlington on the southwestern outskirts of the Sydney CBD. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and Oceania...

, graduating in Medicine

Medicine

Medicine is the science and art of healing. It encompasses a variety of health care practices evolved to maintain and restore health by the prevention and treatment of illness....

 in 1900.

Career

He worked as a microbiologist in Western Australia

Western Australia

Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...

 and New South Wales

New South Wales

New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...

 before becoming Professor of Pathology

Pathology

Pathology is the precise study and diagnosis of disease. The word pathology is from Ancient Greek , pathos, "feeling, suffering"; and , -logia, "the study of". Pathologization, to pathologize, refers to the process of defining a condition or behavior as pathological, e.g. pathological gambling....

 at the University of Adelaide

University of Adelaide

The University of Adelaide is a public university located in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third oldest university in Australia...

. He was the father of ornithologist Joan Paton

Joan Paton

Joan Burton Paton was a South Australian teacher, naturalist, environmentalist and ornithologist. Her father was Professor Sir John Cleland, a notable microbiologist and pathologist who strongly encouraged her early interest in natural history.She was educated at the University of Adelaide where...

 and the eminent cardio-thoracic surgeon William Paton Cleland.

Cleland was President of the Royal Society of South Australia

Royal Society of South Australia

The Royal Society of South Australia is a Learned Society whose interest is in Science, particularly, but not only, of South Australia.The Society stems directly from the Adelaide Philosophical Society founded on the 10 January 1853. The title "Royal" was granted by her Majesty Queen Victoria in...

 1927-1928, and again in 1941.
He became a member of the Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union

Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union

The Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union, also known as Birds Australia, was founded in 1901 to promote the study and conservation of the native bird species of Australia and adjacent regions. This makes it Australia's oldest national birding association. It is also Australia's largest...

 (RAOU) in 1902, and served as its President 1935-1936. He was elected an Honorary Life Member of the RAOU in 1949.

In 1934-35, he published a two volume monograph on the fungi of South Australia, one of the most comprehensive reviews of Australian fungi to date. In 1952 he was awarded the Australian Natural History Medallion

Australian Natural History Medallion

The Australian Natural History Medallion is awarded each year by the Field Naturalists Club of Victoria to the person judged to have made the most meritorious contribution to the understanding of Australian Natural History...

. He is commemorated by the Cleland Conservation Park

Cleland Conservation Park

Cleland Conservation Park is a conservation park in the Adelaide Hills, South Australia. from Adelaide City centre. Cleland Conservation Park conserves a significant area of natural bushland on the Adelaide Hills face and includes the internationally popular Cleland Wildlife Park and the popular...

 in the Mount Lofty Ranges

Mount Lofty Ranges

The Mount Lofty Ranges are the range of mountains just to the east of Adelaide in South Australia.-Location and description:The Mount Lofty Ranges stretch from the southernmost point of the Fleurieu Peninsula at Cape Jervis northwards for over before petering out north of Peterborough...

 of South Australia

South Australia

South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...

, and the J.B. Cleland Kindergarten

Kindergarten

A kindergarten is a preschool educational institution for children. The term was created by Friedrich Fröbel for the play and activity institute that he created in 1837 in Bad Blankenburg as a social experience for children for their transition from home to school...

 in Beaumont, South Australia

Beaumont, South Australia

Beaumont is a suburb of Adelaide in the City of Burnside. Founded as a purpose-built village by Sir Samuel Davenport in 1848, it initially struggled due to high land prices in the area. However, with Adelaide's inevitable expansion residents eventually settled...

.

Cleland was the pathologist on the infamous Taman Shud Case

Taman Shud Case

The Taman Shud Case,While the words that end The Rubaiyat are "Tamam Shud", it has always been referred to as "Taman Shud" in the media, presumably due to a spelling error that persisted. In Persian "tamam" is a noun that means "the end". "shud" is an auxiliary verb indicating past tense, so "tamam...

.

External links

• Online Guide to Records at the South Australian Museum Archives.
• Papers of Sir John Burton Cleland.
• Biographical entry for John Burton Cleland Bright Sparcs.
• Sir John Burton Cleland Australian Dictionary of Biography.
• Cleland obituary
• Cleland biography