Biographical entry Gilbert, Lionel Arthur (1924 - 2015)
OAM
- Born
- 8 December 1924
Burwood, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia - Died
- 28 January 2015
Armidale, New South Wales, Australia - Occupation
- Science historian and Teacher
Summary
Lionel Gilbert was a leading historian of Australian botany. After service as a radar operator during WWII, Gilbert spent 15 years teaching in New South Wales primary schools. He was the appointed to the Armidale Teachers' College as head of the history department, where he established a museum of historic resources. Following his PhD studies into the history of botany in New South Wales (1811-1880) he went on to write a history of the Royal Botanic Gardens Sydney, biographies of eminent botanists Joseph maiden, Hermann Rupp and William Woolls, and many articles on botanical subjects. His interest in botanical history was matched by his dedication to the history of his local area, New England in New South Wales.
Details
Events
- 1942
- Award - Scholarship to Sydney teacher's College
- 1943
- Career position - Radar operator with RAAF
- 1946
- Career position - Teacher, Nabiac Central School
- 1955
- Career position - Deputy Headmaster, Wauchope Primary School
- 1960
- Career position - Headmaster, Rocky River Primary School, near Uralla
- 1961
- Career position - Research and Information Officer, Department of External Studies, University of New South Wales
- 1962
- Career position - Honorary Curator, Armidale City Council Folk Museum
- 1963
- Education - BA, University of New England
- 1963
- Career position - Lecturer and Curator, Museum of Education, Armidale Teachers' College
- 1972
- Education - PhD, University of New England
- 1972
- Award - Churchill Fellowship
- 1975
- Career position - Member, New South Wales State Archives Authority
- 1976
- Career position - Inaugural Director, Historical Resources Centre, Armidale College of Advanced Education
- 1981
- Award - Certificate of Merit, Museums Association of Australia
- 1984
- Life event - Retired
- 1988
- Career position - Honorary Research Associate, Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney
- 1995
- Award - Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM)
- 1997
- Award - Honorary Fellow, Royal Australian Historical Society
- 2001
- Award - Centenary Medal
- 2006
- Award - Fellow, Federation of Australian Historical Societies
- 2008
- Award - Honorary Doctor of Letters, University of New England
Related entries
Published resources
Books
- Gilbert, Lionel, William Woolls, 1814-1893: 'a Most Useful Colonist', Mulini Press, Canberra, 1985, 138 pp. Details
- Gilbert, Lionel, The Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney: a History 1816-1985, Oxford University Press, Melbourne, 1986, 224 pp. Details
- Gilbert, Lionel, The Orchid Man: the Life, Work and Memoirs of the Rev. H.M.R. Rupp (1872-1956), Kangaroo Press, Kenthurst (N.S.W.), 1992, 248 pp. Details
- Gilbert, Lionel, Mr McLeay's Elizabeth Bay Garden: Plants, Privilege and Power in Sydney's Early Scientific Community, Mulini Press, Canberra, 2000, 75 pp. Details
- Gilbert, Lionel, The Little Giant: The Life and Work of Joseph Henry Maiden, 1859-1925, Kardoorair Press in association with the Sydney Royal Botanic Gardens, Armidale, NSW, 2001, 429 pp. Details
Book Sections
- Gilbert, L. A., 'Banks, Sir Joseph (1743-1820)', in Douglas Pike (ed.), Australian Dictionary of Biography, vol. 1, Melbourne University Press, Melbourne, 1966, pp. 52-53. Also available at http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A010051b.htm. Details
- Gilbert, L. A., 'Bauer, Ferdinand Lukas (1760-1826)', in Douglas Pike (ed.), Australian Dictionary of Biography, vol. 1, Melbourne University Press, Melbourne, 1966, p. 73. Also available at http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A010068b.htm. Details
- Gilbert, L. A., 'Considen, Dennis (-1815)', in Douglas Pike (ed.), Australian Dictionary of Biography, vol. 1, Melbourne University Press, Melbourne, 1966, pp. 242-243. Also available at http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A010230b.htm. Details
- Gilbert, L. A., 'Solander, Daniel (1733-1782), naturalist', in Douglas Pike (ed.), Australian Dictionary of Biography, vol. 2, Melbourne University Press, Melbourne, 1967, pp. 456-457. Also available at http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A020421b.htm. Details
- Gilbert, L. A., 'Carron, William (1821-1876), botanist and explorer', in Douglas Pike (ed.), Australian Dictionary of Biography, vol. 3, Melbourne University Press, Melbourne, 1969, pp. 360-361. Also available at http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A030336b.htm. Details
- Gilbert, L. A., 'De Vis, Charles Walter (1829-1915), clergyman, zoologist and museum director', in Douglas Pike (ed.), Australian Dictionary of Biography, vol. 4, Melbourne University Press, Melbourne, 1972, pp. 63-64. Also available at http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A040061b.htm. Details
- Gilbert, L. A., 'Dietrich, Amalie (1821-1891), naturalist', in Douglas Pike (ed.), Australian Dictionary of Biography, vol. 4, Melbourne University Press, Melbourne, 1972, p. 73. Also available at http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A040068b.htm. Details
- Gilbert, L. A., 'Fitzgerald, Robert David (1830-1892), surveyor and naturalist', in Douglas Pike (ed.), Australian Dictionary of Biography, vol. 4, Melbourne University Press, Melbourne, 1972, pp. 178-179. Also available at http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A040193b.htm. Details
- Gilbert, L. A., 'Hamilton, Alexander Greenlaw (1852-1941), Schoolteacher and Naturalist', in Bede Nairn and Geoffrey Serle (eds), Australian Dictionary of Biography, vol. 9, Melbourne University Press, Melbourne, 1983, pp. 173-174. Also available at http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A090166b.htm. Details
- Gilbert, L. A., 'Howard, Amos William (1848-1930)', in Bede Nairn and Geoffrey Serle (eds), Australian Dictionary of Biography, vol. 9, Melbourne University Press, Melbourne, 1983, pp. 374-375. Also available at http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A090375b.htm. Details
- Gilbert, L. A., 'Rupp, Herman Montague Rucker (1872-1956), Clergyman and Botanist', in Geoffrey Serle (ed.), Australian Dictionary of Biography, vol. 11, Melbourne University Press, Melbourne, 1988, pp. 480-481. Also available at http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A110489b.htm. Details
- Gilbert, L. A., 'Turner, Fred (1852-1939), Horticulturalist and Botanist', in John Ritchie (ed.), Australian Dictionary of Biography, vol. 12, Melbourne University Press, Melbourne, 1990, pp. 292-293. Also available at http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A120327b.htm. Details
- Gilbert, Lionel, 'Introduction', in Louisa Atkinson (ed.), Excursions From Berrima and a Trip to Manaro and Molonglo in the 1870s, Mulini Press, Canberra, 1980. Details
- Gilbert, Lionel A., 'Plants, politics and personalities in colonial New South Wales', in Carr, D. J. and Carr, S. G. M. (eds), People and Plants in Australia, Academic Press, Sydney, 1981, pp. 220-58. Details
Journal Articles
- Aitken, Richard, 'Lionel Gilbert: botanical historian extraordinaire', Australian Garden History, vol. 24, no. 3, 2013, pp. 17-9. Details
- Briggs, Barbara, 'Vale Dr Lionel Gilbert OAM 2 December 1924 - 28 January 2015', Australasian Systematic Botany Society Newsletter, vol. 161, 2015, pp. 51-2. Details
- Gilbert, L. A., 'The Bush and the Search for a Staple in New South Wales, 1788-1810', Records of the Australian Academy of Science, vol. 1, no. 1, 1966, pp. 6-17. Also available at http://www.publish.csiro.au/paper/HR9660110006.htm. Details
- Gilbert, Lionel, 'Visit of an Early Naturalist to Victoria', Victorian Naturalist, no. 68, 1952, pp. 175-178. Details
- Gilbert, Lionel, 'From Joseph Banks to Joseph Maiden: Towards a Scientific Botanic Garden', Historical Records of Australian Science, vol. 11, no. 3, 1997, pp. 283-310. Also available at http://www.publish.csiro.au/paper/HR9971130283.htm. Details
- Gilbert, Lionel A., 'Naturalist-Explorers of the Australian Coasts', Victorian Naturalist, vol. 67, July, 1950, pp. 49-53, 77-80. Details
- Gilbert, Lionel A., 'William Carron, Botanist and Explorer, 1821-1876', Royal Australian Historical Society, vol. xlvii, no. 5, 1961, pp. 292-311. Details
- Gilbert, Lionel A., 'Plants, politics and personalities in nineteenth-century New South Wales', Journal of the Royal Australian Historical Society, vol. 56, no. 1, 1970, pp. 15-35. Details
- Gilbert, Lionel Arthur, 'Plants and Parsons in Nineteenth Century New South Wales', Historical Records of Australian Science, vol. 5, no. 3, 1982, pp. 17-32. Also available at http://www.publish.csiro.au/paper/HR9820530017.htm. Details
Theses
- Gilbert, L. A., 'Botanical Investigation of New South Wales 1811-1880', PhD thesis, University of New England, 1971. Details
Helen Cohn
Last modified: 20 April 2016