Frederick Chapman
Encyclopedia
Frederick Chapman was the inaugural Australian Commonwealth Palaeontologist
.
, London
, England
and studied at Royal College of Science
, London where he was initially an assistant to John Wesley Judd
. Chapman qualified as a teacher of geology and physiography at the college and was encouraged by Judd's study of boring samples from around London. He published Foraminifera. An Introduction to the Study of the Protozoa (London, 1902) and went on to become a world authority on Foraminifera
.
, Melbourne
, Australia
from 1902 to 1927. He published papers on the collection of fossils stored there including sponges, corals and fishes. He then served as the first Australian Commonwealth Palaeontologist 1927-35, where Irene Crespin
was his assistant and later succeeded him.
Chapman was awarded the Lyell Prize for research by the Geological Society of London
in 1899; the David Syme Research Prize
of the University of Melbourne
in 1920; the Lyell Medal
, Geological Society, London 1930; the Clarke Medal
by the Royal Society of New South Wales
in 1932; the Australian Natural History Medallion
by the Field Naturalists Club of Victoria
in 1941.
He was president of the Royal Society of Victoria
1929 to 1930.
Chapman published Book of Fossils (London and Sydney) in 1934.
, and one daughter Winifred. Another daughter, Dora was a nurse who died of influenza in the great epidemic.
Paleontology
Paleontology "old, ancient", ὄν, ὀντ- "being, creature", and λόγος "speech, thought") is the study of prehistoric life. It includes the study of fossils to determine organisms' evolution and interactions with each other and their environments...
.
Early life
Chapman was born in Camden TownCamden Town
-Economy:In recent years, entertainment-related businesses and a Holiday Inn have moved into the area. A number of retail and food chain outlets have replaced independent shops driven out by high rents and redevelopment. Restaurants have thrived, with the variety of culinary traditions found in...
, 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...
, 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...
and studied at Royal College of Science
Royal College of Science
The Royal College of Science was a higher education institution located in South Kensington; it was a constituent college of Imperial College London from 1907 until it was wholly absorbed by Imperial in 2002. Alumni include H. G. Wells and Brian May and are distinguishable by the letters ARCS ...
, London where he was initially an assistant to John Wesley Judd
John Wesley Judd
John Wesley Judd was a British geologist.He was born in Portsmouth the son of George and Jannette Judd and educated at the Royal School of Mines, where he later became Professor of Geology....
. Chapman qualified as a teacher of geology and physiography at the college and was encouraged by Judd's study of boring samples from around London. He published Foraminifera. An Introduction to the Study of the Protozoa (London, 1902) and went on to become a world authority on Foraminifera
Foraminifera
The Foraminifera , or forams for short, are a large group of amoeboid protists which are among the commonest plankton species. They have reticulating pseudopods, fine strands of cytoplasm that branch and merge to form a dynamic net...
.
Career in Australia
Chapman was Palaeontologist to the National MuseumMuseum Victoria
Museum Victoria is an organisation which operates three major state-owned museums in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia; these are: the Melbourne Museum, the Immigration Museum and Scienceworks. It also manages the Royal Exhibition Building and a storage facility in Melbourne's City of Moreland.Museum...
, Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, 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...
from 1902 to 1927. He published papers on the collection of fossils stored there including sponges, corals and fishes. He then served as the first Australian Commonwealth Palaeontologist 1927-35, where Irene Crespin
Irene Crespin
Irene Crespin was an Australian geologist and palaeontologist.Crespin was born in Kew, Victoria and was educated at Mansfield Agricultural High School and the University of Melbourne where she was under the influence of Frederick Chapman who she became assistant to in 1927.On 1 January 1936 she...
was his assistant and later succeeded him.
Chapman was awarded the Lyell Prize for research 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 1899; the David Syme Research Prize
David Syme Research Prize
The David Syme Research Prize is an annual award administered by the University of Melbourne for the best original research work in biology, physics, chemistry or geology, produced in Australia during the preceding two years, particular preference is given to original research to enhance industrial...
of the University of Melbourne
University of Melbourne
The University of Melbourne is a public university located in Melbourne, Victoria. Founded in 1853, it is the second oldest university in Australia and the oldest in Victoria...
in 1920; the Lyell Medal
Lyell Medal
The Lyell Medal is a prestigious annual scientific medal given by the Geological Society of London, equal in status to the Murchison Medal, awarded on the basis of research to an Earth Scientist of exceptional quality...
, Geological Society, London 1930; the 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...
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...
in 1932; 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...
by the Field Naturalists Club of Victoria
Field Naturalists Club of Victoria
The Field Naturalists Club of Victoria is an Australian natural history and conservation organisation.It was founded in May 1880 by a group of nature enthusiasts that included Thomas Pennington Lucas. Charles French and Dudley Best. It is the oldest conservation group in Victoria...
in 1941.
He was president of the Royal Society of Victoria
Royal Society of Victoria
The Royal Society of Victoria is the oldest learned society in the state of Victoria in Australia.The Royal Society of Victoria was formed in 1859 from a merger between The Philosophical Society of Victoria and The Victorian Institute for the Advancement of Science , both founded...
1929 to 1930.
Chapman published Book of Fossils (London and Sydney) in 1934.
Family
Chapman married Helen Mary Dancer on 12 August 1890. Helen died in 1940. Frederick died on 10 December 1943 and was survived by a son, WilfridWilfrid Chapman
Brigadier Wilfrid Chapman FIE was an engineer, soldier and botanist after whom Eucalyptus chapmaniana was named.-Early years:Born 16 May 1891 at Wandsworth, London, son of Frederick Chapman, a geologist's assistant, and his wife Helen Mary, née Dancer...
, and one daughter Winifred. Another daughter, Dora was a nurse who died of influenza in the great epidemic.
Further reading
- Linnean Society (London), Proceedings, 1943–44, pt 3
- Herald (Melbourne), 13 December 1943.
- W. N. B. (probably Benson, W. N.William Noel BensonWilliam Noel Benson FRS FRGS was a research geologist and academic. After studying geology at the University of Sydney, Benson worked temporarily at the University of Adelaide before returning to Sydney as a demonstrator...
) (1944–1945). "Obituary. Frederick Chapman, Hon. F.R.S.N.Z." Transactions and Proceedings of the Royal Society of New Zealand 74: 302-303.