Rowland Southern was an English

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...

 aquatic biologist who specialised in the study of the fresh-water and marine life, particularly segmented worms (Annelida) of Ireland

Ireland

Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

. He trained in England as a chemist and upon moving to Dublin received a post with the City Analyst. In 1906 he began work at the Natural History Museum

Natural History Museum (Ireland)

Ireland's Natural History Museum , often called the Dead Zoo a branch of the National Museum of Ireland, is housed on Merrion Street in Dublin, Ireland...

in the city, transferring to the Fisheries branch of the Department of Agriculture and Technical Information in 1911. In 1919 he was promoted to the rank of Assistant Inspector of Fisheries, a post he held until his death.