Simmonds, John Howard (1901 - 1992)

Summary

John Simmonds, having been appointed Assistant Entomologist with the Queensland Department of Agriculture and Stock, became the Department's first Plant Pathologist in 1926. He held this position for 40 years, building up the Department's expertise and research capacity in the field. His particular interest in tropical fruit rots, where his research into the epidemiology of fungal diseases set the pattern for future control programs. It was his work in this area that earned him an international reputation for his research. One of his most significant publications, written with R. Veitch, was Pests and diseases of Queensland fruits and vegetables (1929), a work that included all plant diseases and their causal agents known in Queensland at the time and which proved invaluable for many years. Between 1941 and 1946 Simmonds served with the Australian armed forces: his commands included the 11th Army Malaria Control Unit evaluating the use of DDT in control of malaria vectors. In retirement Simmonds collected microfungi on native plants during his travels around Australia.

Details

Chronology

1921

Military service - Citizen Forces

1922

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

1922 - 1926

Career position - Assistant Entomologist, Department of Agriculture and Stock

1926

Education - Master of Science (MSc), University of Queensland

1926 - 1963

Career position - Plant Pathologist, Queensland Department of Agriculture and Stock

1941 - 1945

Military service - Second World War. Major, Australian Army Medical Corps, and 11th Australian Malaria Control Unit, Australian Imperial Force

1945

Award - Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) - Army, Distinguished service in the South West Pacific

1945 - 1946

Military service - Officer Commanding 1st Australian Mobile Entomological Section, Australian Imperial Force

1946 - 1961

Career position - Officer-in-Charge, Science Branch, Queensland Department of Agriculture and Stock

1948 - 1949

Career position - President, Queensland Naturalists' Club

1963 - 1966

Career position - Plant Pathologist, Queensland Department of Primary Industries

1966

Life event - Retired

1969

Award - Honorary Doctor of Science (DSc), University of Queensland

1992

Award - Honorary Member, Australasian Plant Pathology Society

Related entries

Published resources

Books

• 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
• Veitch, Robert; and Simmonds, J. H., Pests and diseases of Queensland fruits and vegetables (Brisbane: Division of Entomology and Plant Pathology, Department of Agriculture and Stock, 1929), 198 pp. Details

Book Sections

• Simmonds, J. H., 'Plant diseases and their control' in The Queensland agricultural and pastoral handbook, vol. 3, part 2 (Brisbane: Department of Agriculture and Stock, 1938), pp. 115-254. Details

Journal Articles

• Alcorn, J.L.; Purss, G.S., 'A tribute to John Howard Simmonds', Australasian Plant Pathology, 21 (3) (1992), 91-94. Details
• Dowe, John Leslie, 'A family's contribution to Queensland botany: John Howard Simmonds [Snr] (1862 - 1955), Rose Simmonds (née Culpin) (1877 - 1960) and John Howard Simmonds [Jnr] (1901 - 1992)', Austrobaileya, 10 (1) (2017), 168-83. Details
• Kirkpatrick, J.B., 'The numerical intraspecific taxonomy of Eucalyptus globulus Labill. (Myrtaceae)', Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society, 69 (2) (1974), 89-104. Details
• Simmonds, J. H., 'A short history of the early years of pathology in Queensland', Queensland naturalist, 31 (1/2) (1991), 4-12. Details
• Simmonds, J. H., 'A short history of the early years of plant pathology in Queensland', Queensland Naturalist, 31 (1991), 4-12. Details

Resources

• Wikidata, http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q36599242. Details
• 'Simmonds, John Howard (1901 - 1992)', APPS honour board, Australasian Plant Pathology Society, 2024, https://www.appsnet.org/Awards/Simmonds.pdf. https://www.appsnet.org/emembers.html. Details
• 'Simmonds, J H (19010613-19921103)', Trove, National Library of Australia, 2009, https://nla.gov.au/nla.party-624348. Details

Resource Sections

• Purss, G. S., 'Simmonds, John Howard (Jack) (1901 - 1992)', Australian National University, Canberra, 2016. https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/simmonds-john-howard-jack-16125/text28067. Details