Person

Cotton, Bernard Charles (1905 - 1966)

Born
2 February 1905
Sheffield, United Kingdom
Died
3 May 1966
Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
Occupation
Conchologist, Malacologist and Museum curator

Summary

Bernard Cotton was a conchologist and malacologist who became expert in the molluscs of southern Australia. He joined the South Australian Museum in 1923 as assistant to the Honorary Curator of Molluscs, Joseph Verco. Cotton retired in 1962 after nearly 30 years in charge of the mollusc collection. His records are in the Museum. Cotton published widely in his field including over 150 books and papers aimed both the scientific community and the broader public. A number of his most significant books were published by the Malacological Society of South Australia, the Conchology Club of South Australia, and in the series Handbooks of the flora and fauna of South Australia. Cotton was active in the Field Naturalists' Club of South Australia and the Royal Society of South Australia, of which he was President from 1951 to 1952.

Details

Chronology

1923
Life event - Migrated to South Australia
1923 - 1928
Career position - Cadet assisting Joseph Verco, South Australian Museum
1928 - 1934
Career position - Assistant Conchologist, South Australian Museum
1929 - 1966
Award - Fellow, Royal Society of South Australia
1934 - 1940
Career position - Curator of Molluscs, South Australian Institute
1940 - 1962
Career position - Curator of Molluscs, South Australian Museum
1950
Award - Australian Natural History Medallion, Field Naturalists' Club of Victoria
1951 - 1952
Career position - President, Royal Society of South Australia
1962
Life event - Retired
1964 - 1966
Award - Honorary Life Member, Field Naturalists' Society of South Australia

Related Corporate Bodies

Published resources

Books

  • Cotton, B. C.; and Abbie, A. A., Aboriginal man in South and Central Australia, part 1 (Adelaide: Government Printer, 1966), 220 pp. Details
  • Cotton, Bernard C., South Australian Mollusca: archaeogastropoda (Adelaide: Government Printer, 1959), 449 pp. Details
  • Cotton, Bernard C., South Australian Mollusca: Pelecypoda (Adelaide: Government Printer, 1961), 363 pp. Details
  • Cotton, Bernard C., South Australian Mollusca: chitons (Adelaide: Government Printer, 1964), 151 pp. Details
  • Cotton, Bernard C.; and Godfrey, Frank K., A systematic list of the gastropoda the marine, freshwater and land univalve Mollusca of South Australia (Adelaide: Malacological Society of South Australia, 1938), 44 pp. Details
  • Cotton, Bernard C.; and Godfrey, Frank K., A systemic list of the Pelecypoda, Scaphopoda, Cephalopoda and Crepipoda : the bivalve mollusca, tusk-shells, nautilus, squids, octupi, and chitons of South Australia (Adelaide: Malacological Society of South Australia, 1940), 32 pp. Details
  • Cotton, Bernard, C.; and Godfrey, Frank K., The molluscs of South Australia, 2 vols (Adelaide: Government Printer, 1938-1940). Details

Edited Books

  • Cotton, Bernard C. ed., South Australian national parks and reserves; an account of the national parks and reserves situated near Adelaide, South Australia (Adelaide: Commissioners of the National Parks and Wildlife Reserves, 1964), 190 pp. Details
  • Cotton, Bernard C.; and Godfrey, Frank K. eds, A systematic list of the Echinodermata, Foraminifera, Hydroida, Brachiopoda of southern Australia (Adelaide: Malacological Society of South Australia, 1943), 36 pp. Details

Journal Articles

  • 'Obituary: Bernard Charles Cotton, 1905-1966', Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia, 90 (1966), 179. Details
  • 'Obituary Notice: Bernard Charles Cotton, FRZS', Proceedings of the Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales, 87 (1966), 15. Details
  • Cotton, B. C., 'Obituary and bibliography of conchological works of Sir Joseph Cooke Verco', South Australian Naturalist, 14 (4) (1933), 121-4. Details
  • Laws, Helene M. and Mincham, Hans, 'Bernard Charles Cotton (1905 - 1966): obituary, bibliography and index of his new scientific names', Journal of the Malacological Society of Australia, 1 (11) (1968), 10-24. Details

Resources

Helen Cohn

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