Robert Etheridge, Junior
Encyclopedia
Robert Etheridge was a British palaeontologist who made important contributions to the Australian Museum
.
Etheridge was born in Cheltenham
, Gloucestershire
, England
, the only son of the palaeontologist, Robert Etheridge
and his wife Martha, née Smith. He was educated at the Royal School of Mines
, London
, under Thomas Huxley
, and was trained as a palaeontologist by his father.
In 1866 Etheridge came to Australia
, working under Alfred Richard Cecil Selwyn
on the Victorian geological survey
until it was terminated in 1869, and returned to England in 1871. Two years later he was appointed palaeontologist to the geological survey of Scotland
, and in 1874 obtained a position in the geology department in the Natural History Museum
at South Kensington. While there in co-operation with P. H. Carpenter he compiled a valuable Catalogue of the Blastoidea.
Etheridge returned to Australia in 1887 and was given a dual position as palaeontologist to the geological survey of New South Wales and the Australian Museum at Sydney. While in England he had much correspondence with his friend Dr Robert Logan Jack
who had sent him many fossils from Queensland. From 1881 they worked together and in 1892 appeared The Geology and Palaeontology of Queensland and New Guinea, by Robert L. Jack and Robert Etheridge, Junior, an elaborate work with many plates and maps. Etheridge founded The Records of the Geological Survey, and published many papers on the fossils of the older strata.
On 1 January 1895 Etheridge was appointed curator of the Australian Museum
, and in his hands the collection was much enriched and better displayed, and he initiated the Records of the Australian Museum. As he grew older he enlarged his interests to include ethnology. He wrote much on the manners and customs of the aborigines and gathered together a remarkable collection of native work for his museum. He also extended the usefulness of the museum by having popular science lectures and demonstrations for visitors. He died suddenly of pneumonia on 4 January 1920. His wife predeceased him and he was survived by two sons.
Etheridge wrote a large number of scientific papers, around 350 were published. A list of his papers will be found in the Records of the Australian Museum, vol. XV, pp. 5 to 27. He was awarded the Wollaston Fund by the Geological Society of London
in 1877, shared the 1895 Clarke Medal
with Robert Logan Jack
(awarded by the Royal Society of New South Wales
). Etheridge was also awarded the von Mueller medal by the Australasian Association for the Advancement of Science in 1911. Numerous species of animals, both fossil and recent, were named in his honour, and his name was also given to a goldfield in Queensland, a peak in the Kosciusko plateau, and a glacier in Antarctica.
Australian Museum
The Australian Museum is the oldest museum in Australia, with an international reputation in the fields of natural history and anthropology. It features collections of vertebrate and invertebrate zoology, as well as mineralogy, palaeontology, and anthropology...
.
Etheridge was born in Cheltenham
Cheltenham
Cheltenham , also known as Cheltenham Spa, is a large spa town and borough in Gloucestershire, on the edge of the Cotswolds in the South-West region of England. It is the home of the flagship race of British steeplechase horse racing, the Gold Cup, the main event of the Cheltenham Festival held...
, Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn, and the entire Forest of Dean....
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, the only son of the palaeontologist, Robert Etheridge
Robert Etheridge
Robert Etheridge was an English geologist and palaeontologist.-Biography:Etheridge was born at Ross-on-Wye, in Herefordshire. After an ordinary school education in his native town, he obtained employment in a business house in Bristol...
and his wife Martha, née Smith. He was educated at the Royal School of Mines
Royal School of Mines
Royal School of Mines comprises the departments of Earth Science and Engineering, and Materials at Imperial College London.- History :The Royal School of Mines was established in 1851, as the Government School of Mines and Science Applied to the Arts...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, under Thomas Huxley
Thomas Huxley
Thomas Henry Huxley PC FRS was an English biologist, known as "Darwin's Bulldog" for his advocacy of Charles Darwin's theory of evolution....
, and was trained as a palaeontologist by his father.
In 1866 Etheridge came to 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...
, working under Alfred Richard Cecil Selwyn
Alfred Richard Cecil Selwyn
Alfred Richard Cecil Selwyn, CMG, LL.D, FRS, FGS was a British geologist, director of the Geological Survey of Victoria from 1852–1869, director of Geological Survey of Canada 1869–1894 and President of the Royal Society of Canada 1895-1896.-Early life:Selwyn was born in Kilmington, Somerset,...
on the Victorian geological survey
Geological survey
The term geological survey can be used to describe both the conduct of a survey for geological purposes and an institution holding geological information....
until it was terminated in 1869, and returned to England in 1871. Two years later he was appointed palaeontologist to the geological survey of Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, and in 1874 obtained a position in the geology department in the Natural History Museum
Natural History Museum
The Natural History Museum is one of three large museums on Exhibition Road, South Kensington, London, England . Its main frontage is on Cromwell Road...
at South Kensington. While there in co-operation with P. H. Carpenter he compiled a valuable Catalogue of the Blastoidea.
Etheridge returned to Australia in 1887 and was given a dual position as palaeontologist to the geological survey of New South Wales and the Australian Museum at Sydney. While in England he had much correspondence with his friend Dr Robert Logan Jack
Robert Logan Jack
Robert Logan Jack was Queensland Government geologist for twenty years.-Early life:Jack was born at Irvine, in Ayrshire, Scotland the son of Robert Jack, a cabinet-maker, and his wife Margaret, née Logan...
who had sent him many fossils from Queensland. From 1881 they worked together and in 1892 appeared The Geology and Palaeontology of Queensland and New Guinea, by Robert L. Jack and Robert Etheridge, Junior, an elaborate work with many plates and maps. Etheridge founded The Records of the Geological Survey, and published many papers on the fossils of the older strata.
On 1 January 1895 Etheridge was appointed curator of the Australian Museum
Australian Museum
The Australian Museum is the oldest museum in Australia, with an international reputation in the fields of natural history and anthropology. It features collections of vertebrate and invertebrate zoology, as well as mineralogy, palaeontology, and anthropology...
, and in his hands the collection was much enriched and better displayed, and he initiated the Records of the Australian Museum. As he grew older he enlarged his interests to include ethnology. He wrote much on the manners and customs of the aborigines and gathered together a remarkable collection of native work for his museum. He also extended the usefulness of the museum by having popular science lectures and demonstrations for visitors. He died suddenly of pneumonia on 4 January 1920. His wife predeceased him and he was survived by two sons.
Etheridge wrote a large number of scientific papers, around 350 were published. A list of his papers will be found in the Records of the Australian Museum, vol. XV, pp. 5 to 27. He was awarded the Wollaston Fund by the Geological Society of London
Geological Society of London
The Geological Society of London is a learned society based in the United Kingdom with the aim of "investigating the mineral structure of the Earth"...
in 1877, shared the 1895 Clarke Medal
Clarke Medal
The Clarke Medal is awarded by the Royal Society of New South Wales for distinguished work in the Natural sciences.Named in honour of the Reverend William Branwhite Clarke, one of the founders of the Society...
with Robert Logan Jack
Robert Logan Jack
Robert Logan Jack was Queensland Government geologist for twenty years.-Early life:Jack was born at Irvine, in Ayrshire, Scotland the son of Robert Jack, a cabinet-maker, and his wife Margaret, née Logan...
(awarded by the Royal Society of New South Wales
Royal Society of New South Wales
The Royal Society of New South Wales is a learned society based in Sydney, Australia. It was established as the Philosophical Society of Australasia on 27 June 1821...
). Etheridge was also awarded the von Mueller medal by the Australasian Association for the Advancement of Science in 1911. Numerous species of animals, both fossil and recent, were named in his honour, and his name was also given to a goldfield in Queensland, a peak in the Kosciusko plateau, and a glacier in Antarctica.