Crocker, Robert Langdon   (1914 - 1963)

Born at Peterborough, South Australia, July, 1914, died Sydney, NSW, 20 June, 1963.

His secondary education was received at Scotch College, Adelaide, where, in addition to, his scholastic achievements, he became the College's leading athlete. On coming up to the University of Adelaide, his original inclinations were towards Agricultural Science, or Forestry, possibly being influenced by his home background, for he was the son of a farmer in the marginal farming land of South Australia. He became interested in Geology and Botany, and at graduation in 1935 seemed likely to make his career in Geology. His close friendship with the late Professor J. G. Wood, then Professor of Botany at Adelaide, swung the balance in favour of plants.

He joined the staff of the Division of Soils, C.S.I.R., in 1936, but later transferred to the Agronomy Department of the Waite Institute. He was a member of the first expedition to cross the Simpson Desert in 1939; [at that time he was with the CSIR Soils Division and was the expedition botanist]. During the War years 1940-1943, he was an explosives chemist attached to the Ministry of munitions.

In 1947, he was awarded a D.Sc. by the University of Adelaide for his contributions to ecology and soils. He then spent two years in Cambridge and travelled as a Fellow of the Rockefeller Foundation. Upon return to Australia, he was appointed Reader in Grassland Ecology with the University of Adelaide. In 1950 he joined the staff of the University of California at Berkeley as Associate Professor of Soil Morphology, and was made a Full Professor in 1951. He was invited by the University of Sydney to the Chair of Botany in 1954 where he spent the latter part of his career.

Source: Extracted from: https://oa.anu.edu.au/obituary/crocker-robert-langdon-18278;
Portrait Photo: Extracted from: https://oa.anu.edu.au/obituary/crocker-robert-langdon-18278

Collecting localities for 'Crocker, R.L.' from AVH (2021)

Data from 1,632 specimens