Richard Ellis Ford Matthews (20 November 1921 – 19 February 1995) was a New Zealand plant virologist.

Biography

Matthews was born in

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...

in 1921. He grew up in Mount Albert, and was educated at Owairaka School and Mount Albert Grammar School in

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about ...

. He then attended

Auckland University College , mottoeng = By natural ability and hard work , established = 1883; years ago , endowment = NZD $293 million (31 December 2021) , budget = NZD $1.281 billion (31 December 2021) , chancellor = Cecilia Tarrant , vice_chancellor = Dawn F ...

, graduating with a Master of Science degree with second-class honours in 1942. After serving in the 7th Antitank Regiment of the

2nd New Zealand Expeditionary Force The New Zealand Expeditionary Force (NZEF) was the title of the military forces sent from New Zealand to fight alongside other British Empire and Dominion troops during World War I (1914–1918) and World War II (1939–1945). Ultimately, the NZE ...

in Italy from 1943 to 1945, Matthews undertook PhD studies at Emmanuel College, Cambridge, graduating in 1948. He was appointed senior mycologist at the New Zealand

Department of Scientific and Industrial Research Department of Scientific and Industrial Research, abbreviated DSIR was the name of several British Empire organisations founded after the 1923 Imperial Conference to foster intra-Empire trade and development. * Department of Scientific and Industria ...

in 1954 and senior principal research officer in 1956. In 1962, he was appointed professor of microbiology at the

University of Auckland , mottoeng = By natural ability and hard work , established = 1883; years ago , endowment = NZD $293 million (31 December 2021) , budget = NZD $1.281 billion (31 December 2021) , chancellor = Cecilia Tarrant , vice_chancellor = Dawn F ...

, retiring in 1987. Matthews was elected a Fellow of the

Royal Society of New Zealand Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, a c ...

in 1962, and in 1978 he was awarded the

Hector Medal The Hector Medal, formerly known as the Hector Memorial Medal, is a science award given by the Royal Society Te Apārangi in memory of Sir James Hector to researchers working in New Zealand. It is awarded annually in rotation for different science ...

. He was elected a Fellow of the

Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...

in 1974. On 6 February 1988, Matthews was appointed a

Member of the Order of New Zealand The Order of New Zealand is the highest honour in the New Zealand royal honours system, created "to recognise outstanding service to the Crown and people of New Zealand in a civil or military capacity". It was instituted by royal warrant on 6 F ...

. He died in Auckland on 19 February 1995.

References

1921 births 1995 deaths People from Hamilton, New Zealand People educated at Mount Albert Grammar School University of Auckland alumni New Zealand military personnel of World War II Alumni of Emmanuel College, Cambridge Academic staff of the University of Auckland New Zealand microbiologists New Zealand Fellows of the Royal Society Fellows of the Royal Society of New Zealand Members of the Order of New Zealand 20th-century New Zealand scientists New Zealand phytopathologists New Zealand virologists 20th-century agronomists {{NewZealand-scientist-stub