Person

Kinghorn, James Roy (1891 - 1983)

Born
12 October 1891
Richmond, New South Wales, Australia
Died
4 March 1983
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Occupation
Naturalist

Summary

Roy Kinghorn was a naturalist who for nearly 50 years was employed at the Australian Museum, Sydney. Initially working of crustaceans, he was appointed Zoologist in charge of reptiles and amphibians in 1918 with the additional responsibility for birds added in 1921. He wrote extensively on taxonomy and biology of these animals and, despite his professed dislike of snakes, published the landmark books Snakes of Australia (1929), and The dangerous snakes of the South-West Pacific Area (1943) with Charles Kellaway. Throughout his career Kinghorn was a popular and prolific lecturer on zoological topics, particularly using the medium of radio broadcasts and later television. In retirement he worked on science programs for the Australian Broadcasting to Commission from 1961 to 1971. Kinghorn was twice President of the Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales.

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Details

Chronology

1907 - 1914
Career position - Cadet (later Zoologist’s Clerk), Australian Museum
1915 - 1918
Military service - Served with the Australian Imperial Forces
1918 - 1941?
Career position - Zoologist in charge of reptiles and amphibians, Australian Museum
1921 - 1941
Career position - Zoologist in charge of birds, Australian Museum
1923 - 1941
Career position - Corresponding Member, Zoological Society of London
1927 - 1928
Career position - President, Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales
1935
Education - Diploma of the Museums’ Association of Great Britain
1937 - 1938
Award - Carnegie Corporation grant to visit museums in the UK and USA
1941 - 1956
Career position - Assistant to the Director, Australian Museum
1942 - 1945
Military service - Second World War. Citizens Military Forces
1950 - 1956
Career position - President, Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales
1951 - 1983
Award - Fellow, Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales
1956
Life event - Retired
1961 - 1971
Career position - Broadcaster with Australian Broadcasting Commission

Related Corporate Bodies

Archival resources

National Library of Australia Oral History Collection

  • James Roy Kinghorn - Records, 1928 - 1977, DeB 1000; National Library of Australia Oral History Collection. Details

Published resources

Book Sections

Resources

See also

  • Williams, David, Wuester, Wolfgang and Fry, Bryan Grieg, 'The Good, the Bad and the Ugly: Australian Snake Taxonomists and a history of the Taxonomy of Australia's Venomous Snakes ', Toxicon, 48 (7) (2009), 919-930 . Details

Gavan McCarthy [P004098] and Helen Cohn

Created: 20 October 1993, Last modified: 6 October 2023

EOAS ID: biogs/P002018b.htm

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