Person
Clark, John (1885 - 1956)
- Born
- 21 March 1885
Glasgow, United Kingdom - Died
- 1 June 1956
Mooroolbark, Victoria, Australia - Occupation
- Entomologist
Summary
John Clark was an entomologist who for many years was one of Australia's few authorities on ants, but whose research was hampered by a lack of formal education. His research centred on the Dorylinae, Myrmeciinae and Dolichoderini. He is noted for having described the world's most primitive living ant, Nothomyrmecia. For some years he worked as Entomologist with the National Museum of Victoria which in1933 purchased his collection of over 8,000 ant specimens. Clark's The Formicidae of Australia, volume 1 (1951), produced with CSIRO funding and after an unfortunate editorial process, was not well received because of difficulties with the key and synonymy. His later collection of ants was deposited after his death with the Australian National Insect Collection where it formed the nucleus of the Formicid collection. Several species of ants have been named in his honour.
Details
Chronology
- 1905
- Life event - Migrated to Queensland
- 1920 - 1926
- Career position - Assistant Entomologist, Western Australian Department of Agriculture
- 1926 - 1944
- Career position - Entomologist, National Museum of Victoria
Related entries
Published resources
Books
- Clark, J. S., The Formicidae of Australia (volume 1): subfamily Myrmeciinae (Melbourne: CSIRO, 1951), 230 pp. Details
Book Sections
- Upton, Murray, 'Clark, John (1885 - 1956) entomologist' in Australian dictionary of biography, volume 13: 1940 - 1980 A-De, John Ritchie, ed. (Melbourne: Melbourne University Press, 1993), p. 436. http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/clark-john-9756. Details
Journal Articles
- Brown, W. L., 'John Clark', Entomological News, 67 (8) (1956), 197-9. Details
- Clark, J,, 'Australian Formicidae: notes and new species', Memoirs of the National Museum of Victoria, 12 (1941), 71-94. Details
- Clark, J., 'Ants from the Otway Ranges', Memoirs of the National Museum of Victoria, 8 (1934), 48-73. Details
- Clark, J., 'A revision of the genus Promyrmecia Emery (Formicidae)', Memoirs of the National Museum of Victoria, 13 (1943), 83-149. Details
- Greaves, T., 'Obituary: John Clark', Australian Journal of Science, 19 (1) (1956), 23. Details
Resources
- Wikidata, http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q3182410. Details
- VIAF - Virtual International Authority File, OCLC, https://viaf.org/viaf/231426741. Details
See also
- Upton, M. S., A Rich and Diverse Fauna: the history of the Australian National Insect Collection 1926 - 1991 (Melbourne: CSIRO Publishing, 1997), 386 pp. Details
Helen Cohn
Created: 28 November 2017, Last modified: 3 July 2018