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John Dennis Carthy (7 April 1923 – 13 March 1972) was a British zoologist and ethologist whose primary study subjects were the
sensory systems
The sensory nervous system is a part of the nervous system responsible for processing sensory information. A sensory system consists of sensory neurons (including the sensory receptor cells), neural pathways, and parts of the brain involved i ...
and behaviour of
invertebrates
Invertebrates are a paraphyletic group of animals that neither possess nor develop a vertebral column (commonly known as a ''backbone'' or ''spine''), derived from the notochord. This is a grouping including all animals apart from the chordat ...
.
He published 11 books and numerous scientific articles.
Life and career
John D Carthy went to
Bedford School, and received his undergraduate training at
Christ’s College at the
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter by Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the world's third oldest surviving university and one of its most pr ...
.
During WW2 he served in the Operational Research Section of the
RAF Bomber Command,
after which he returned to Cambridge, and completed first his undergraduate studies and subsequently obtained a PhD at Cambridge in 1950.
He joined the faculty of the Zoology Department at
Queen Mary College
, mottoeng = With united powers
, established = 1785 – The London Hospital Medical College1843 – St Bartholomew's Hospital Medical College1882 – Westfield College1887 – East London College/Queen Mary College
, type = Public researc ...
, London in 1950, where he remained until his death in 1972.
In 1967, he became the first Scientific Director of the
Field Studies Council
Field Studies Council is an educational charity based in the UK, which offers opportunities for people to learn about and engage with the outdoors.
History
It was established as the Council for the Promotion of Field Studies in 1943 with the ...
,
where he led the establishment of the Oil Pollution Research Unit at
Orielton Field Studies Centre
Orielton is a historic country house near Hundleton in Pembrokeshire, Wales. It has been used as a field studies centre for environmental sciences but was put on sale in early 2022
History
The first known house at Orielton was a fortified manor b ...
, Pembrokeshire and the setting up of the Epping Forest Conservation Centre.
He was a fellow of the
Institute of Biology The Institute of Biology (IoB) was a professional body for biologists, primarily those working in the United Kingdom. The Institute was founded in 1950 by the Biological Council: the then umbrella body for Britain's many learned biological societie ...
and a Secretary of the Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour (ASAB) and the
Society for Experimental Biology
The Society for Experimental Biology is a learned society for animal, cell and plant biologists. It was founded in 1923 at Birkbeck College to "promote the art and science of experimental biology in all its branches". It aims to demonstrate the i ...
and a council member of the
Royal Entomological Society
The Royal Entomological Society is devoted to the study of insects. Its aims are to disseminate information about insects and improving communication between entomologists.
The society was founded in 1833 as the Entomological Society of Londo ...
(vice presidency in 1962).
In honour of his contributions, a prize is awarded annually to a final year BSc Psychology student at
Queen Mary University of London
, mottoeng = With united powers
, established = 1785 – The London Hospital Medical College1843 – St Bartholomew's Hospital Medical College1882 – Westfield College1887 – East London College/Queen Mary College
, type = Public researc ...
who shows substantial academic achievement.
John Carthy was a prominent science communicator, with many appearances on popular radio and television programmes,
e.g. the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
’s "Meet the Professor", "Tonight", "Nature Parliament" and "
Young Scientists of the Year
''Young Scientists of the Year'' was a BBC1 television series which ran from 1966 to 1981.
History
1960s
The series first aired on Thursday 7 July 1966 on BBC1 at 18:30 and was called ''Science Fair '66''. It was thirty minutes and the first f ...
".
Books
* John D Carthy "Animal Navigation: how Animals Find their Way about" Allen & Unwin, London, 1956
* John D Carthy "An Introduction to the Behaviour of Invertebrates" Allen & Unwin, London, 1958
* John D Carthy "The World of Feeling" Phoenix House, London, 1960
* John D Carthy & Charles Lionel Duddington (eds) "Viewpoints in Biology" Butterworths, London 1962
* John D Carthy & Francis John Govier Ebling (eds) "The Natural History of Aggression" Academic Press, London, New York, 1964
* John D Carthy "The Behaviour of Arthropods" W. H. Freeman, San Francisco, 1965
* John D Carthy & Aaron E Klein "Animals and their ways; the science of animal behavior" Natural History Press, Garden City, 1965
* John D Carthy "The Study of Behaviour" St Martins Press, New York, 1966
* John D Carthy & G.E. Newell "Invertebrate Receptors" Academic Press, New York, 1968
* John D Carthy & Don R Arthur "The Biological Effects of Oil Pollution on Littoral Communities: Proceedings of a Symposium Held at the Orielton Field Centre, Pembroke, Wales, on 17th, 18th and 19th February 1968", Field Studies Council, London, 1968.
* John D Carthy & Colin Threadgall "Animal Camouflage" McGraw Hill, New York, 1972.
Articles
* Odour trails of Acanthomyops fuliginosus. Nature, 166, 1950, p. 154;
* The orientation of two allied species of British ant. I. Visual direction finding in Acanthomyops niger. Behaviour, 3, 1951, pp. 275–303;
* Odour trail laying and following in Acanthomyops fuliginosus. Behaviour, 3, 1951, pp. 304–318;
* Do animals see polarized light? New Scientist, 10, 1961, pp. 660–662;
* Color vision in invertebrates. In: Symp. of the Inst. of Biology, No. 12 "Colour and Life", London 1964
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Carthy, John
1923 births
1972 deaths
20th-century British zoologists
Royal Air Force personnel of World War II