Peter Gladstone was a British naturalist

Naturalist

Naturalist may refer to:* Practitioner of natural history* Conservationist* Advocate of naturalism * Naturalist , autobiography-See also:* The American Naturalist, periodical* Naturalism...

 and wildfowl expert. He was the great grandson of the Liberal prime minister William Ewart Gladstone

William Ewart Gladstone

William Ewart Gladstone FRS FSS was a British Liberal statesman. In a career lasting over sixty years, he served as Prime Minister four separate times , more than any other person. Gladstone was also Britain's oldest Prime Minister, 84 years old when he resigned for the last time...

, and brother of Sir William Gladstone, 7th Baronet. He grew up at Hawarden Castle

Hawarden Castle (18th century)

New Hawarden Castle, in Hawarden, Flintshire, Wales was the estate of former British Prime Minister William Ewart Gladstone, which previously belonged to the family of his wife, Catherine Glynne. It was built in 1752...

 in Wales, and attended Eton College

Eton College

Eton College, often referred to simply as Eton, is a British independent school for boys aged 13 to 18. It was founded in 1440 by King Henry VI as "The King's College of Our Lady of Eton besides Wyndsor"....

, where his father, Charles Gladstone

Sir Charles Gladstone, 6th Baronet

Sir Charles Andrew Gladstone, 6th Baronet was a Master at Eton College and a British Baronet.Gladstone was the son of the Reverend Stephen Edward Gladstone and Annie Crosthwaite Wilson, and the grandson of the former Prime Minister, William Ewart Gladstone. As a ten year old, he attended William...

, was a housemaster

Housemaster

In British education, a housemaster is a member of staff in charge of a boarding house, normally at a boarding school . The housemaster is responsible for the supervision and care of boarders in the house and typically lives on the premises...

. He served in the Palestine Police in 1946, towards the end of the British Mandate of Palestine. From 1949 to 1952 he studied biology at Christ Church, Oxford

Christ Church, Oxford

Christ Church or house of Christ, and thus sometimes known as The House), is one of the largest constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England...

, and rowed for Oxford in the 1952 Boat Race

The Boat Race

The event generally known as "The Boat Race" is a rowing race in England between the Oxford University Boat Club and the Cambridge University Boat Club, rowed between competing eights each spring on the River Thames in London. It takes place generally on the last Saturday of March or the first...

. He went on to teach biology at Shrewsbury School

Shrewsbury School

Shrewsbury School is a co-educational independent school for pupils aged 13 to 18, founded by Royal Charter in 1552. The present campus to which the school moved in 1882 is located on the banks of the River Severn in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England...

 until 1971, when he joined Sir Peter Scott's Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust

Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust

The Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust is a wildfowl and wetland conservation charity in the United Kingdom. Its patron is Queen Elizabeth II.It was founded in 1946 by the ornithologist and artist Sir Peter Scott, initially as the Severn Wildfowl Trust...

. Gladstone developed the trust's wildfowl reserve at Martin Mere

WWT Martin Mere

WWT Martin Mere is a wetland nature reserve managed by the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust at Tarlscough, Burscough, Lancashire, England, on the West Lancashire Coastal Plain, from Ormskirk and from Southport...

 in Lancashire

Lancashire

Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...

. In the 1970s he took over the management of Fasque House

Fasque House

Fasque, also known as Fasque House, is a mansion in Aberdeenshire, Scotland situated near the village of Fettercairn, in the former county of Kincardineshire. Fasque was the property of the Ramsays of Balmain, and the present house was completed around 1809, replacing an earlier house...

, a family property in Aberdeenshire. In 1998 he journeyed to Tibet

Tibet

Tibet is a plateau region in Asia, north-east of the Himalayas. It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people as well as some other ethnic groups such as Monpas, Qiang, and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han and Hui people...

 in an unsuccessful search for the Pink-headed Duck

Pink-headed Duck

The Pink-headed Duck is a large diving duck that was once found in parts of the Gangetic plains of India, Bangladesh and in the riverine swamps of Myanmar but feared extinct since the 1950s. Numerous searches have failed to provide any proof of continued existence...

. He was a fellow of the Royal Geographical Society

Royal Geographical Society

The Royal Geographical Society is a British learned society founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical sciences...

. Gladstone died of a heart attack at the age of 71.