Raymond Robert ForsterQSO(19 June 1922 – 1 July 2000) was a New Zealandarachnologistand museum director. He was a Fellow of theEntomological Society of New Zealand.
Ray Forster | |
|---|---|
| Born | 19 June 1922 |
| Died | 1 July 2000(aged 78) Dunedin,New Zealand |
| Spouse | |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Arachnology |
Biography
editForster was born inHastings, New Zealandin 1922,[1]and was educated atVictoria University College,gaining BSc, MSc(Hons) and DSc degrees.[2]
Forster was anentomologistat theNational MuseuminWellingtonfrom 1940 to 1947, with an interruption for military service during World War II.[2]Between 1942 and 1945 he served first in the army and then as a naval radar mechanic.[3]He was appointed zoologist and assistant director atCanterbury Museumin 1948. Forster was one of the zoologists studying invertebrates on the 1949New Zealand American Fiordland Expedition.[4]He was a marine biologist on the1954 Chatham Islands expedition.[5]In 1957 he moved toOtago Museumto take up the position of director. He retired from that role in 1987.[1]
Forster wrote his first paper on spiders at the age of 17. Over the course of his career, more than 100 scientific papers and volumes were published bearing his name, including the definitive six-volumeSpiders of New Zealand,in co-authorship with international colleagues. He also publishedSmall Land Animalsand co-authoredNZ Spiders, An Introduction.[2]Much of his work was accomplished in collaboration with his wife,Lyn Forster,a notable New Zealand arachnologist.[6]
He researched and classified many of New Zealand's thousands of native spiders, and was responsible for establishingOtago Museum's spider collection.[2]
Honours
editIn 1961, Forster was elected a Fellow of theRoyal Society of New Zealand,and received two of that society's honours: the Hutton Medal in 1971; and theHector Medalin 1983.[1]
TheUniversity of Otagohonoured Forster with the award of the degree of Doctor of Science,honoris causa,in 1978.[1]
Forster was awarded theQueen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medalin 1977,[2]and was appointed aCompanion of the Queen's Service Orderfor public services in the1984 New Year Honours.[7]
Forster was also elected a Fellow of the Entomological Society of New Zealand.[8]
Honorific eponym
editA small valley inFiordland,Forster Burn, is named after him.[2]
References
edit- ^abcdRaven, Robert J. (2000)."Raymond Robert Forster QSO DSc NZ Otago FRSNZ FESNZ FMANZ 1922–2000: Are you there?".Royal Society of New Zealand.Retrieved14 February2013.
- ^abcdef"World-rated zoologist classified many native NZ spiders".Otago Daily Times. 8 July 2000.
- ^abRay Forster obituaryArchived8 August 2013 at theWayback Machine.International Society of Arachnology. Retrieved 14 February 2013.
- ^Alick Lindsay Poole,ed. (1951). "Preliminary reports of The New Zealand - American Fiordland Expedition".Bulletin of the New Zealand Department of Scientific and Industrial Research.103.Wellington:Department of Scientific and Industrial Research:1–99.ISSN0077-961X.WikidataQ125475906.
- ^G A Knox (1957)."General account of the Chatham Islands 1954 Expedition"(PDF).New Zealand Oceanographic Institute Memoir.2:1–37.ISSN0083-7903.WikidataQ66412141.
- ^Vink, Cor J.; Sirvid, Phil J.; Hall, Grace (February 2009). "Obituary DR LYNDSAY MCLAREN FORSTER: 1925–2009".New Zealand Entomologist.32(1): 95–97.doi:10.1080/00779962.2009.9722184.ISSN0077-9962.S2CID85262722.
- ^"No. 49584".The London Gazette(2nd supplement). 31 December 1983. p. 35.
- ^"Fellowship of the society – Entomological Society of New Zealand".Retrieved31 May2022.