Person
Lightfoot, Gerald (1877 - 1966)
FRSS
- Born
- 3 May 1877
Walker, Northumberland, England - Died
- 1 June 1966
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia - Occupation
- Public servant and Science administrator
Summary
Gerald Lightfoot was Secretary of the CSIR (Council for Scientific and Industrial Research) from 1926 to 1944. He also established their first scientific bibliographic reference service and was the founding editor of the Journal of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research. Prior to this, Lightfoot had worked with the Commonwealth Bureau of Census and Statistics, the Advisory Council of Science and Industry and was Chief Executive Officer of the Institute of Science and Industry. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Statistical Society (FRSS) in 1915.
Details
Chronology
- 1898
- Education - Bachelor of Arts (BA), University of Cambridge, UK
- 1902 - 1906
- Career position - Called to the Bar of the Middle Temple, UK
- 1906
- Life event - Migrated to Australia (Melbourne?)
- 1907 - 1916
- Career position - Draftsman and Computer, Commonwealth Bureau of Census and Statistics
- 1912
- Education - Master of Arts (MA), University of Cambridge, UK
- 1914 - 1916
- Career position - Lecturer in Economics and Industrial Law, University of Melbourne
- 1915 -
- Award - Fellow, Royal Statistical Society (FRSS)
- 1916
- Career position - Overseas trip with the Advisory Council of Science and Industry, USA and UK
- August 1916 - c. September 1919
- Career position - Secretary to the executive committee of the Advisory Council of Science and Industry
- 1920 -
- Career position - Member, Commonwealth Prickly Pear Board
- 1921 -
- Career position - Foundation Councillor (Economics and Statistics), Australian National Research Council
- c. 1921 - c. 1926
- Career position - Chief Executive Officer, Institute of Science and Industry
- 1923 - 1924
- Career position - Editor, Proceedings of the Pan-Pacific Science Congress, Australia, Australian National Research Council
- 1926 - 1944
- Career position - Secretary of CSIR (Council for Scientific and Industrial Research)
- 1927 - 1930
- Career position - Founding Editor, Journal of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research
- 1929
- Career position - Visits to North America, Britain and Europe for CSIR
- 1937
- Career position - Visits to North America, Britain and Europe for CSIR
- c. 1942 - 1947
- Career position - Retired, but kept on as a consultant to CSIR
Related entries
Published resources
Books
- Currie, George; Graham, John, The Origins of CSIRO: Science and the Commonwealth Government, 1901-1926 (Melbourne: CSIRO, 1966), 203 pp, https://ebooks.publish.csiro.au/content/origins-csiro. pages 48, 52, 54-56, 58, 76, 91-92, 95-96, 99-101, 104, 107, 109, 110, 112-113, 122-125, 132 (photograph), 135, 142-143, 152. Details
Book Sections
- McDonald, D. I., 'Lightfoot, Gerald (1877-1966)' in Australian dictionary of biography, volume 10: 1891 - 1939 Lat-Ner, Bede Nairn and Geoffrey Serle, eds (Melbourne: Melbourne University Press, 1986), pp. 99-100. http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A100093b.htm. Details
Edited Books
- Lightfoot, Gerald ed., Proceedings of the Pan-Pacific Science Congress, Australia, 1923 : Melbourne Meeting 13th to 22nd August, 1923, Sydney Meeting 23rd to 3rd September, 1923 (Melbourne: Australian National Research Council, 1924), i-xix, 1-1677 pp. Details
Reports
- Advisory Council of Science and Industry, Resolutions passed by the Advisory Council, July 1917, together with, Report and recommendations on the organization and work of the proposed permanent Institute of Science and Industry (Melbourne: Government of Australia, 1917), 10 pp. Details
- Lightfoot, Gerald, Memorandum on the organization of scientific research institutions in the United States of America (Melbourne: Government of Australia, 1916), 42 pp. https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-2611917477. Details
Resources
- Wikidata, http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q21538331. Details
- VIAF - Virtual International Authority File, OCLC, https://viaf.org/viaf/2870148390871310830002. Details
- 'Lightfoot, Gerald (1877-)', Trove, National Library of Australia, 2009, https://nla.gov.au/nla.party-1468529. Details
See also
- Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering, Technology in Australia 1788-1988, Online edn, Australian Science and Technology Heritage Centre, Melbourne, 3 May 2000, http://www.austehc.unimelb.edu.au/tia/index_l.html. Details
- Wisdom, John, A History of Defence Science in Australia (Melbourne: Defence Science and Technology Organisation, 1995), 267 pp. Details
McCarthy, G.J.
Created: 20 October 1993, Last modified: 30 January 2024
- Foundation Supporter - Committee to Review Australian Studies in Tertiary Education