Michael Williams, FBA (1935–2009) was a Welsh historical geographer, known particularly for his work on

deforestation Deforestation or forest clearance is the removal and destruction of a forest or stand of trees from land that is then converted to non-forest use. Deforestation can involve conversion of forest land to farms, ranches, or urban use. Ab ...

. His book, "Deforesting the earth: from pre-history to global crisis" is the most comprehensive account ever written of when, where, and how humans have wrought what is surely the most dramatic change in Earth's surface since the end of the Pleistocene...about every aspect of human use of the forest and the forces that drive this use. "People and the Trees", ''Science'', 9 May 2003, Vol 300, Issue 5621, pp. 907-908, He had a personal chair at the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

from 1996.

Life

He was the second son of Benjamin Williams and his wife, Ethel Mary Marshell of

Swansea Swansea ( ; ) is a coastal City status in the United Kingdom, city and the List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, second-largest city of Wales. It forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area, officially known as the City and County of ...

, born in Rheanfa House Maternity Hospital. He studied at University College, Swansea from 1953, and fell under the influence of the geographer Frank Emery. He graduated B.A. in 1956, and Ph.D. in 1960 with a thesis on the

Somerset Levels The Somerset Levels are a coastal plain and wetland area of Somerset, England, running south from the Mendips to the Blackdown Hills. The Somerset Levels have an area of about and are bisected by the Polden Hills; the areas to the south ...

. By that time married, he moved on to St Catharine's College, Cambridge, working for an education diploma. Later in 1960, Williams took a lecturing post at the

University of Adelaide The University of Adelaide is a public university, public research university based in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third-oldest university in Australia. Its main campus in the Adelaide city centre includes many Sa ...

, becoming reader in 1970. In 1978 he went to the

, where he was a reader from 1990, professor from 1996, and a Fellow of Oriel College. He was elected a fellow of the

British Academy The British Academy for the Promotion of Historical, Philosophical and Philological Studies is the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and the social sciences. It was established in 1902 and received its royal charter in the sa ...

in 1989.Professor Michael Williams
Professor emeritus from 2002, Williams died of adult respiratory distress syndrome on 26 October 2009.

Works

Williams's books included: *''The Draining of the Somerset Levels'' (1970) *''The Making of the South Australian Landscape'' (1976) *''The Changing Rural Landscape of South Australia'' (1977) *''Americans and their Forests'' (1989), Charles A. Weyerhaeuser Book Award of the American Forest and Conservation Society *''Deforesting the Earth, from Prehistory to Global Crisis'' (2003), Weyerhaeuser Book Award and Meridian Prize of the Association of American Geographers.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Michael 1935 births 2009 deaths Welsh geographers Fellows of Oriel College, Oxford British historical geographers Environmental historians Fellows of the British Academy