Person
Woolley, Richard van der Riet (1906 - 1986)
Kt OBE FAA FRS
- Born
- 24 April 1906
Weymouth, Dorset, England - Died
- 24 December 1986
- Occupation
- Astronomer
Summary
Richard Woolley was Director of the Mount Stromlo Observatory 1939-1955, Astronomer Royal, United Kingdom 1956-1971 and Director of the South African Astronomical Observatory 1972-1976. He was an early and consistent advocate for the Anglo-Australian telescope.
Details
Born Weymouth, Dorset, England, 24 April 1906. Died 24 December 1986. Educated Universities of Cape Town (MSc) and Cambridge (BA 1928, PhD 1931, ScD 1951). OBE 1953, Knight Bachelor (Kt) 1963. Commonwealth Fund Fellowship, Mt Wilson Observatory, California 1929-31, Isaac Newton Student, Cambridge 1931-33, Chief Assistant, Royal Observatory, Greenwich 1933-37, John Couch Adams Astronomer, University of Cambridge 1937-39, director, Mount Stromlo Observatory 1939-55, professor of astronomy, Australian National University 1950-55, Astronomer Royal, UK 1956-71, first Director, South African Astronomical Observatory 1972-76. President, Royal Astronomical Society 1963-65, President, ANZAAS 1955. Fellow, Royal Society 1953, Foundation Fellow, Australian Academy of Science 1954, Gold Medal, Royal Astronomical Society 1971.
Chronology
- 1953
- Award - Fellow, The Royal Society, London (FRS)
- 1953
- Award - Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) - Commonwealth Astronomer
- 1955
- Award - Doctor of Laws (LLD), honoris causa, University of Melbourne
- 1963
- Award - Knight Bachelor (Kt)
Related entries
Archival resources
Adolph Basser Library, Australian Academy of Science
Published resources
Encyclopedia of Australian Science and Innovation Exhibitions
- Exhibition Papers, A Bright Sparcs Exhibition, Australian Science Archives Project, 1997, http://www.asap.unimelb.edu.au/bsparcs/exhib/papers/exhib_papers.htm. Details
- The Giant's Eye: the Optical Munitions Exhibition, Australian Science Archives Project, 1997, http://www.asap.unimelb.edu.au/bsparcs/exhib/omp/omp.htm. Details
- Smith, Ailie, Adolph Basser Library Manuscript Collection, eScholarship Research Centre, 2012, http://www.eoas.info/basser_browse.html. Details
Books
- Ophel, Trevor and Jenkin, John, Fire in the Belly: the First Fifty Years of the Pioneer School at the ANU (Canberra: Research School of Physical Science and Engineering, Institute of Advanced Studies, ANU, 1996), 157 pp. Details
- Woolley, Richard van der Riet, The Longest Tyranny: an Inaugural Lecture Delivered at Canberra on 28 July 1955 (Canberra: Australian National University, 1955), 27 pp. Details
Journal Articles
- Davies, Susan, 'R. v.d. R. Wooley in Australia', Historical Records of Australian Science, 6 (1) (1984), 59-69. https://doi.org/10.1071/HR9840610059. Details
- Gascoigne, S. C. B., 'Bok, Woolley and Australian Astronomy', Historical Records of Australian Science, 9 (2) (1992), 119-126. https://doi.org/10.1071/HR9920920119. Details
- Gasgoigne, S. C. B., 'Astrophysics at Mount Stromlo: the Woolley era', Proceedings of the Astronomical Society of Australia, 5 (1984), 597-605. Details
- Hyland, A. R.; and Faulkner, D. J., 'From the Sun to Universe - the Woolley and Bok Directorships at Mount Stromlo', Proceedings of the Astronomical Society of Australia, 8 (2) (1989), 216-228. Details
- McCrea, S. W., 'Richard van der Reit Woolley 1906-86', Historical Records of Australian Science, 7 (3) (1988), 315-345. https://doi.org/10.1071/HR9880730315. Details
- Woolley, Richard van der Riet, 'Mount Stromlo Observatory', Records of the Australian Academy of Science, 1 (3) (1968), 53-57. http://www.publish.csiro.au/paper/HR9680130053.htm. Details
Resources
- Wikidata, http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q2397435. Details
- VIAF - Virtual International Authority File, OCLC, https://viaf.org/viaf/163142080. Details
- 'Woolley, Richard Van Der Riet (19060424-19861224)', Trove, National Library of Australia, 2009, https://nla.gov.au/nla.party-1475623. Details
- 'Awarded honorary LLD, 1955', Honorary degree holders, University of Melbourne, 2023, https://about.unimelb.edu.au/notable-alumni-staff/honorary-degree-holders. Details
Resource Sections
- 'Woolley, Richard van der Reit', in Physics in Australia to 1945, R.W. Home, with the assistance of Paula J. Needham, Australian Science Archives Project, June 1995, http://www.asap.unimelb.edu.au/bsparcs/physics/P000915p.htm. Details
- 'Woolley, Richard van der Riet', in The Giant's Eye: the Optical Munitions Exhibition, A Bright Sparcs Exhibition, Australian Science Archives Project, 1997, http://www.asap.unimelb.edu.au/bsparcs/exhib/omp/people/woolley.htm. Details
- McCrea, William, 'Richard van der Riet Woolley 1906-86', in Australian Academy of Science Biographical Memoirs, Australian Academy of Science, 2006, https://www.science.org.au/fellowship/fellows/biographical-memoirs/richard-van-der-riet-woolley-1906-1986. Details
See also
- Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering, Technology in Australia 1788-1988, Online edn, Australian Science and Technology Heritage Centre, Melbourne, 3 May 2000, http://www.austehc.unimelb.edu.au/tia/index_w.html. Details
- Bhathal, Ragbir, 'How Mount Stromlo Observatory shed its imperial beginnings', A&G: News and Reviews in Astronomy & Geophysics, 55 (6) (2014), 6.33-6.35. Details
- Bolton, H. C., 'Optical Instruments in Australia in the 1939-45 War: successes and lost opportunities', Australian Physicist (1990). http://www.asap.unimelb.edu.au/bsparcs/exhib/papers/bolton2.htm. Details
- Brown, R. Hanbury; Minnett, Harry C; White, Fredrick W. G., 'Edward George Bowen 1911-1991', Historical Records of Australian Science, 9 (2) (1992), 151-166. https://doi.org/10.1071/HR9920920151. Details
- Mellor, D.P., 'Optical Munitions', Chapter 12 in Australia in the War of 1939-1945, Series 4: Civil, volume 5 'The Role of Science and Industry', Canberra: Australian War Memorial, 1958 (1958). http://www.asap.unimelb.edu.au/bsparcs/exhib/papers/mellor.htm. Details
- Sherratt, Tim; Condé, Anne-Marie, A Wartime Observatory Observed - the Mount Stromlo Community, 1940-1945, Australian Science Archives Project, Canberra, 1994, http://www.asap.unimelb.edu.au/pubs/articles/tps/tps_stromlo_draft.htm. Details
Digital resources
Rosanne Walker
Created: 20 October 1993, Last modified: 24 August 2023
- Foundation Supporter - Committee to Review Australian Studies in Tertiary Education