William Homan Thorpe
Encyclopedia
William Homan Thorpe FRS (April 1, 1902 – April 7, 1986) was Professor of Animal Ethology at the University of Cambridge
, and a significant British
zoologist, ethologist and ornithologist.
Together with Nikolaas Tinbergen
, Patrick Bateson
and Robert Hinde
, Thorpe contributed to the growth and acceptance of behavioural biology in Great Britain.
In the 1940s, he pioneered the use of sound spectrography for the detailed analysis of bird song
. At the time, there was only a single apparatus in the UK.
He was elected to the Royal Society in 1951 and speaker at the Gifford lectures
from 1969 to 1971.
He was president of the British Ornithologists' Union
from 1955 to 1960.
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
, and a significant British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
zoologist, ethologist and ornithologist.
Together with Nikolaas Tinbergen
Nikolaas Tinbergen
Nikolaas "Niko" Tinbergen was a Dutch ethologist and ornithologist who shared the 1973 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with Karl von Frisch and Konrad Lorenz for their discoveries concerning organization and elicitation of individual and social behaviour patterns in animals.In the 1960s he...
, Patrick Bateson
Patrick Bateson
Sir Patrick Bateson, FRS is an English biologist and science writer. Bateson is emeritus professor of ethology at Cambridge University and president of the Zoological Society of London since 2004....
and Robert Hinde
Robert Hinde
Robert Aubrey Hinde CBE FRS FBA is the Emeritus Royal Society Research Professor of Zoology at the University of Cambridge. He was formerly the master of St. John's College, Cambridge. He is the chair of British Pugwash...
, Thorpe contributed to the growth and acceptance of behavioural biology in Great Britain.
In the 1940s, he pioneered the use of sound spectrography for the detailed analysis of bird song
Bird song
Bird vocalization includes both bird calls and bird songs. In non-technical use, bird songs are the bird sounds that are melodious to the human ear. In ornithology and birding, songs are distinguished by function from calls.-Definition:The distinction between songs and calls is based upon...
. At the time, there was only a single apparatus in the UK.
He was elected to the Royal Society in 1951 and speaker at the Gifford lectures
Gifford Lectures
The Gifford Lectures were established by the will of Adam Lord Gifford . They were established to "promote and diffuse the study of Natural Theology in the widest sense of the term — in other words, the knowledge of God." The term natural theology as used by Gifford means theology supported...
from 1969 to 1971.
He was president of the British Ornithologists' Union
British Ornithologists' Union
The British Ornithologists' Union aims to encourage the study of birds in Britain, Europe and elsewhere, in order to understand their biology and to aid their conservation....
from 1955 to 1960.