Person
Smithers, Courtenay Neville (1925 - 2011)
- Born
- 29 August 1925
South Africa - Died
- 12 May 2011
- Occupation
- Entomologist and Museum curator
Summary
Courtenay Smithers was an entomologist who was a world expert on Psocoptera (bark lice). He worked as an entomologist in South Africa and Rhodesia before becoming Curator of Insects at the Australian Museum in 1960. As curator he was also responsible for Arachnids, Chilopoda and Dromopoda, and revolutionised the way in which the collections were stored in such a way as to minimise damage to the fragile specimens when they were moved. His collecting activities in Australia and Melanesia resulted in the Australian Museum having one of the world's best collections of Psocoptera. Among his nearly 300 scientific publications was the major work The classification and phylogeny of the Psocoptera (1972). Smithers was a firm believer in the importance of connecting the public to the work of museum scientists, encouraging members of the public to participate in Museum programs. He wrote books and articles of a popular nature, his books on insect collecting and backyard beekeeping both running to multiple editions. Smithers played a leading role in the establishment of a national entomological society and served a term as President of the Australian Entomological Society. After retiring as Principal Curator from the Australian Museum he continued his research on bark lice, scorpion flies, butterflies and lacewings.
Details
Chronology
- ? - 1985
- Career position - Principal Curator, Australian Museum
- 1938
- Life event - Migrated to UK with family
- 1943 - 1947
- Career position - Served with the British Army
- 1960
- Life event - Migrated to Australia
- 1960 - 1967
- Career position - Curator of Insects, Australian Museum
- 1961 - 1964
- Career position - President, Royal Zoolgical Society of New South Wales
- 1967 - ?
- Career position - Deputy Director, Australian Museum
- 1972
- Career position - Organising secretary, International Congress of Entomologists, Canberra
- 1972
- Education - PhD, Rhodes University, South Africa
- 1977 - 1980
- Career position - President, Australian Entomological Society
- 1983 - 1984
- Career position - President, Linnean Society of New South Wales
- 1983 - 2011
- Award - Honorary Life Member, Australian Entomological Society
- 1984 - 2011
- Award - Honorary Life Member, Entomological Society of New South Wales
- 1985
- Life event - Retired
- 1985 - 2011
- Career position - Senior Fellow, Australian Museum
Related entries
Published resources
Journal Articles
- Britton, David, 'Dr Courtenay Neville Smithers 1925 - 2011: a tribute', General and Applied Entomology, 40 (2011), 25-34. Details
- Britton, David R., 'Courtenay Neville Smithers: his career in Australia', Australian Entomologist, 39 (4) (2012), 221-30. Details
- New, T. R., 'Courtenay Neville Smithers: his scientific contributions to the "small order" of insects', Australian Entomologist, 39 (4) (2012), 231-7. Details
- Peters, J. V., 'A tribute to Courtenay Neville Smithers and his butterfly migration studies', Australian Entomologist, 39 (4) (2012), 239-46. Details
Resources
- 'Smithers, C N (19250829-20110512)', Trove, National Library of Australia, 2009, https://nla.gov.au/nla.party-619837. Details
Helen Cohn
Created: 5 December 2017, Last modified: 11 November 2021