Kenneth Williamson | |
|---|---|
 Kenneth Williamson | |
| Born | 1914 Bury, Greater Manchester |
| Died | 14 June 1977 |
| Occupation | Ornithologist |
Kenneth Williamson FRSE MBOU (c. 1914 – 14 June 1977)[1] was a British ornithologist who had a strong association with Scotland and with bird migration.
Life
Williamson was born in Bury, Lancashire. After briefly working as a journalist, Williamson started training in biology at the Manx Museum.[2] He served with the British occupation of the Faroe Islands in World War II from 1941 to 1945.[2] After the war he continued his biological training at the Yorkshire Museum under Reginald Wagstaffe.[3] He was employed as a Museum Assistant for Natural History from 1946 until April 1949 when he left to become the Director of the Fair Isle Bird Observatory.[4] He remained in the role of director until 1957 when he left to be the inaugural Migration Research Officer for the British Trust for Ornithology.[2]
He served as editor of the journal Bird Migration (1958–1963). He served on the British Birds Rarities Committee (1959–1963).[2]
On 2 March 1959 Williamson was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. His proposers were George Waterston, Vero Wynne-Edwards, John Berry and James Ritchie.[1]
He died unexpectedly during the night of 14 June 1977.
Personal life
He married Esther Louise Rein of Tórshavn in 1944, with whom he had a daughter and a son.
Publications
As well as numerous ornithological papers, books authored or co-authored by Williamson include:
- 1937 – The Sky’s Their Highway. Putnam: London. (Illustrated by Charles Tunnicliffe)
- 1948 – The Atlantic Islands. A Study of the Faeroe Life and Scene. Collins: London.
- 1960 – St Kilda Summer. Hutchinson: London. (With J. Morton Boyd).
- 1963 – A Mosaic of Islands. Oliver & Boyd: London. (With J. Morton Boyd).
- 1965 – Fair Isle and its Birds. Oliver & Boyd: London.
References
- 1 2 Former RSE Fellows, 1783–2002 (PDF), Royal Society of Edinburgh, retrieved 12 March 2019
- 1 2 3 4 "Obituaries". Bird Study. 24 (3): 202–205. 1977. doi:10.1080/00063657709476557.
- ↑ Annual Report for the Council of the Yorkshire Philosophical Society for 1945 (Report). 1945. p. 5.
- ↑ Annual Report for the Council of the Yorkshire Philosophical Society for 1949 (Report). 1950. p. 6.
- Williamson, Kenneth; & Boyd, J. Morton. (1960). St Kilda Summer. Hutchinson: London.
- Williamson, Kenneth. (1970). The Atlantic Islands. Routledge & Kegan Paul: London. (2nd edition). ISBN 0-7100-6911-1