Tillyard, Robin John (1881 - 1937)

Summary

Robin Tillyard was internationally renowned as a systematic entomologist when he became the Chief of the CSIRO Division of Economic Entomology in 1928. He was an expert in dragonflies (Odonata) and Lacewings (Neuroptera), insect palaeontology, and the wing venation and phylogeny of insects. His landmark work The Biology of Dragonflies was published in 1917. In New Zealand he established a reputation in the field of biological control of plant and insect pests. His book The insects of Australian and New Zealand (1926) remained the principal work in the field for nearly 50 years. As Chief of Division he ensured that insect taxonomy was integral to the Division's programs and was responsible for establishing what became the National Insect Collection. Tillyard was an influential worker on the fossils of the Elmo Permian deposits, believing that they held the key to the true classification of insects. In later years he worked with Edgeworth David on supposed pre-Cambrian fossils in South Australia.

Details

Chronology

1903

Education - Bachelor of Arts (BA), University of Cambridge

1904

Life event - Migrated to Australia

1904 - 1913

Career position - Mathematics and science teacher, Sydney Grammar School

1907

Education - Master of Arts (MA), University of Cambridge

1914

Education - Bachelor of Science (BSc), University of Sydney

1915 - 1920

Career position - Linnean Macleay Fellow in Zoology, University of Sydney

1917

Award - Crisp Prize and Medal, Linnean Society, London

1917 - 1920

Career position - Lecturer in Zoology, University of Sydney

1920 - 1926

Career position - Chief of Department of Biology, Cawthron Institute, Nelson, New Zealand

1926

Award - Trueman Wood Medal, Royal Society of Arts and Science, London

1928

Career position - Honorary Fellow, Queen’s College, University of Cambridge

1928 - 1934

Career position - Chief of Division, CSIRO Division of Economic Entomology

1929

Award - R. M. Johnston Memorial Medal, Royal Society of Tasmania

1930

Career event - Elected Member (Zoology), Australian National Research Council

1930

Career position - President, Section D (Zoology), Australasian Association for the Advancement of Science

1931

Award - Clarke Medal, Royal Society of New South Wales

1931 - 1937

Award - Fellow, Royal Zooogical Society of New South Wales

1934

Life event - Retired

1935

Award - Mueller Medal, Australian and New Zealand Association for the Advancement of Science

Related entries

Archival resources

Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) Corporate Records and Archives Strategies

• Robin John Tillyard - Records, 1928 - 1934, Series 3, 67 and others; Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) Corporate Records and Archives Strategies. Details

Mitchell and Dixson Libraries Manuscripts Collection, State Library of New South Wales

• Angus & Robertson - Records, 1824 - 1933, ML MSS 314; Mitchell and Dixson Libraries Manuscripts Collection, State Library of New South Wales. Details
• Arthur Wilberforce Jose - Records, 1919 - 1925, A7273; Mitchell and Dixson Libraries Manuscripts Collection, State Library of New South Wales. Details
• Robin John Tillyard - Records, 1921 - 1937; Mitchell and Dixson Libraries Manuscripts Collection, State Library of New South Wales. Details

Published resources

Books

• Evans, J. W., The Life and Work of Robin John Tillyard, 1881-1937 (St Lucia: University of Queensland Press, 1963), 32 pp. Details
• Musgrave, A., Bibliography of Australian entomology, 1775-1930: with biographical notes on authors and collectors (Sydney: Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales, 1932), 380 pp. Details
• Tillyard, R. J., The insects of Macquarie Island (Sydney: Government Printer, 1920), 35 pp. Details
• Tillyard, R. J. and Dunstan, B., Mesozoic insects of Queensland, pts I and II, 2 vols (Brisbane: Department of Mines, 1923-4). Details

Book Sections

• Waterhouse, D. F.; Norris, K. R., 'Tillyard, Robin John (1881-1937), naturalist and entomologist' in Australian dictionary of biography, volume 12: 1891 - 1939 Smy-Z, John Ritchie, ed. (Melbourne: Melbourne University Press, 1990), pp. 232-233. http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A120258b.htm. Details

Journal Articles

• Crosby, T. K., 'Robin John Tillyard - the man behind the book', New Zealand Entomologist, 6 (3) (1977), 305-8. Details
• Imms, A. D., 'Robin John Tillyard, 1881 - 1937', Obituary Notices of Fellows of the Royal Society, 2 (6) (1938), 339-45. Details
• J. E. W. [ie John W. Evans], 'Robin John Tillyard, 1881-1937 (Memorial series, no. 11)', Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales, 71 (5/6) (1946), 252-256. Details
• Khelifa, Rassim, Theischinger, Gunther and Endersby, Ian, 'A century on from "The biology of dragonflies" by Tillyard 1917: what have we learned since then?', Austral Entomology, 56 (2017), 138-47. Details
• Lambkin, Kevin J., 'Robin John Tillyard's 1936 Queensland excursion: uncivilised towns, unmitigated discomfort and fossil insects', Archives of natural history, 47 (1) (2020), 92-104. Details
• Schedvin, C. B., 'Environment, Economy and Australian Biology 1890-1939', Historical Studies, 21 (1984), 11-28. Details

Resources

• Wikidata, http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q326396. Details
• VIAF - Virtual International Authority File, OCLC, https://viaf.org/viaf/111099009. Details
• 'Tillyard, R J (1881-1937)', Trove, National Library of Australia, 2009, https://nla.gov.au/nla.party-552632. Details

See also

• Endersby, Ian D., 'Etymology of the Dragonflies (Insecta: Odonata) named by R.J. Tillyard, F.R.S.', Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales, 134 (2012), 1-16. Details
• Norris, K. R., 'Ian Murray Mackerras 1898-1980', Historical Records of Australian Science, 5 (2) (1981), 98-114. https://doi.org/10.1071/HR9810520098. Details
• Serle, Percival, Dictionary of Australian biography (Sydney: Angus & Robertson, 1949). Details