Person
Noble, Robert Jackson (1894 - 1981)
CBE
- Born
- 17 May 1894
Five Dock, New South Wales, Australia - Died
- 21 May 1981
Turramurra, New South Wales, Australia - Occupation
- Agricultural scientist, Plant pathologist and Public service administrator
Summary
Robert Jackson was a plant pathologist noted as an expert on cereal diseases and for his research into viral diseases of plants and commercial mushroom farming. Having joined the New South Wales Department of Agriculture in 1913, he was Head of the Department from 1940 to 1959. During this time he was active in promoting a more scientific approach of farming, and was involved in establishing a comprehensive plant quarantine system to prevent the introduction of pathogens from overseas. In 1945 Noble led the Australian delegation to the FAO meeting in Quebec, Canada, and subsequently was influential in persuading Australian governments to coordinate better their activities in fisheries, agricultural production and marketing, and health.
Details
Chronology
- 1913 - 1915
- Career position - Cadet, New South Wales Department of Agriculture
- 1915
- Education - Bachelor of Agricultural Science (BScAgr), University of Sydney
- 1915 - 1919
- Military service - Served with the Australian Imperial Forces
- 1920 - 1923
- Career position - Assistant Biologist, New South Wales Department of Agriculture
- 1920 - 1981
- Award - Fellow, Royal Society of New South Wales
- 1921
- Award - Sir Benjamin Fuller Travelling Scholarship, University of Minnesota, St Paul, Minnesota, U.S.A.
- 1922
- Education - Master of Science (MSc), University of Minnesota, St Paul, Minnesota, U.S.A.
- 1923
- Education - Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), University of Minnesota, St Paul, Minnesota, U.S.A.
- 1923 - 1927
- Career position - Principal Assistant Biologist, New South Wales Department of Agriculture
- 1926
- Career event - Elected Associate Member (Agriculture), Australian National Research Council
- 1927 - 1940
- Career position - Biologist, New South Wales Department of Agriculture
- 1929 - 1934
- Career position - Editor, Journal and proceedings of the Royal Society of New South Wales
- 1933 - 1949
- Career position - Member, New South Wales State Committee, Council for Scientific and Industrial Research
- 1934
- Career position - President, Royal Society of New South Wales
- 1935 - ?
- Career position - Foundation Member, Australian Institute of Agricultural Science
- 1936
- Career position - President, New South Wales Branch, Australian Institute of Agricultural Science
- 1937
- Award - Coronation Medal
- 1940 - 1959
- Career position - Trustee, Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney
- 1940 - 1959
- Career position - Chairman, Farrer Memorial Trust
- 1940 - 1959
- Career position - Director and Permanent Head, New South Wales Department of Agriculture
- 1940 - 1981
- Award - Fellow, Australian and New Zealand Association for the Advancement of Science
- 1945 - 1959
- Career position - Member (later Chairman), Standing Committee on Agriculture, Australian Agricultural Council
- 1946 - 1976
- Career position - Trustee, Australian Museum
- 1949 - 1959
- Career position - Member, Fauna Protection Panel, New South Wales National Parks and Wildlife Service
- 1949 - 1966
- Career position - Member, New South Wales State Committee, CSIRO
- 1951
- Award - Outstanding Achievement Award, Medal and Citation, University of Minnesota, St Paul, Minnesota, U.S.A.
- 1951 - 1977
- Career position - Trustee, McGarvie Smith Trust
- 1953
- Award - Coronation Medal
- 1957
- Award - Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) - Head of the NSW Agriculture Department
- 1959
- Award - Farrer Memorial Medal, Farrer Memorial Trust
Related entries
Archival resources
Mitchell and Dixson Libraries Manuscripts Collection, State Library of New South Wales
- Robert Jackson Noble - Records, 1901 - 1980, ML MSS 2465; Mitchell and Dixson Libraries Manuscripts Collection, State Library of New South Wales. Details
University of Sydney, Archives
- Robert Jackson Noble - Records, 1908 - 1935, P 82 and others; University of Sydney, Archives. Details
Published resources
Book Sections
- Green, Lindsay, 'Noble, Robert Jackson (1894-1981), Agricultural Scientist and Public Servant' in Australian dictionary of biography, volume 18: 1981 - 1990 L-Z, Melanie Nolan, ed. (Melbourne: Melbourne University Press, 2012), p. 225. http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/noble-robert-jackson-14994. Details
Journal Articles
- Malcolm, H. D. R., 'Obituary: Robert Jackson Noble', Journal and Proceedings of the Royal Society of New South Wales, 115 (1) (1982), 74. Details
Resources
- Wikidata, http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q21686673. Details
- 'Noble, R J (18940517-19810521)', Trove, National Library of Australia, 2009, https://nla.gov.au/nla.party-582464. Details
See also
- Fenner, Frank ed., History of Microbiology in Australia (Melbourne: Australian Society for Microbiology, 1990), 624 pp. Details
- 'Noble, Robert Jackson (1894 - 1981)', Farrer Memorial Trust Medal recipients and orations, New South Wales Department of Primary Industries, Sydney, 2023, https://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0003/596217/farrer_oration_1959_dr-ri-noble.pdf. https://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/about-us/who-we-are/interacting_2/farrer-memorial-trust/farrer-memorial-trust-medal-recipients-and-orations. Details
McCarthy, G.J. and Helen Cohn
Created: 20 October 1993, Last modified: 14 December 2023
- Foundation Supporter - Committee to Review Australian Studies in Tertiary Education